Children, who make up nearly half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, have had their lives shattered by the brutal war. Despite Israel stating that it seeks to avoid civilian casualties, including issuing evacuation orders, according to Palestinian health officials, more than 11.500 individuals under the age of 18 have been killed. Many more have sustained injuries, profoundly altering the lives of countless children. While exact numbers are hard to come by, a recent report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, a non-profit organization, indicates that over 24.000 children have lost one or both parents.
Ibrahim Abu Mouss, just 10 years old, suffered severe injuries to his leg and abdomen when a projectile hit his home. However, his tears are for his deceased mother, grandfather, and sister. “They kept telling me they were getting better in the hospital,” Ibrahim says as his father tightly holds his hand. “But I found out the truth when I saw pictures on my dad’s phone. I cried so much that everything hurt.”
Relatives of the Hussein family, who once played together, now sit humbly next to the graves where some of their relatives are buried near a school-turned-shelter in central Gaza. Each has lost one or both parents.
“The projectile fell into my mom’s lap, and her body was torn apart. For days, we extracted parts of her body from the rubble of the house,” says Abed Hussein, who lives in the al-Bureij refugee camp.
“When they said my brother, uncle, and the whole family were killed, I felt like my heart was bleeding.”
With dark circles around his eyes, Abed stays awake at night, frightened by the sounds of Israeli shelling and feeling lonely. “When my mom and dad were alive, I slept, but after they were killed, I can’t sleep anymore. I used to sleep next to my dad,” he explains.
Almost everyone in Gaza now relies on aid for basic necessities. According to United Nations (UN) data, around 1.7 million people are displaced, and many are forced to constantly move in search of safety. However, UNICEF, the UN agency for children, states that the greatest concern is for about 19.000 children who have lost one or both parents or have been left without an adult caregiver.
“Many of these children have been found under the rubble or lost their parents in the bombing of their homes,” says Jonathan Crick, head of communications for UNICEF Palestine, from Rafah in southern Gaza. Others have been found at Israeli checkpoints, in hospitals, and on the streets. “The youngest often don’t know how to say their name, and even the older ones are usually in shock, making it extremely difficult to identify them and potentially reunite them with their extended family.”
Since the start of the war, the local non-profit organization SOS Children’s Villages, which collaborates with UNICEF, says it has taken in 55 such children, all under 10 years old. They have employed additional specialized staff in Rafah to provide psychological support. A senior SOS staff member talks about a four-year-old girl who was left behind at a checkpoint. She arrived with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that rendered her unable to speak about what happened to her and her family. But after being welcomed with gifts and playing with other children she lives with, she began to progress.
UNICEF believes that almost all children in Gaza now need mental health support. With lives destroyed, even when there is a permanent ceasefire, many will be left with terrible losses that will be difficult to overcome.
E.Dz.
Photo: archive
