Children in Gaza are displaying increasingly distressing signs of trauma two weeks into the intense bombardment by Israel, according to parents and psychiatrists in the densely populated enclave.
With nowhere safe to hide from the falling bombs and limited prospects for relief, this crisis is particularly devastating for roughly half of Gaza's 2.3 million population who are children.
Many of them have sought shelter in the UN-run schools after fleeing their homes, facing challenges such as inadequate food and clean water.
Israel is expected to launch a ground attack on Gaza soon in response to a cross-border assault by Hamas fighters on southern Israel on Oct. 7, which resulted in over 1,400 casualties and 210 hostages.
Gaza psychiatrist Fadel Abu Heen reported: "Children have begun to exhibit severe trauma symptoms like convulsions, bed-wetting, fear, aggressive behavior, nervousness and an unwillingness to leave their parents' side."
The toll is devastating, with over 4,100 Palestinians killed in Gaza, including more than 1,500 children, and 13,000 people injured, as reported by the Palestinian health ministry.
Conditions in makeshift shelters within United Nations schools, where more than 380,000 people are taking refuge from the bombardment, only exacerbate the problem. Classrooms often house up to 100 people, necessitating constant cleaning. Limited access to electricity and clean water leads to unsanitary bathroom facilities.
Even within these makeshift shelters, there is no guarantee of safety, as they have been struck multiple times, according to the United Nations. The constant fear and insecurity have created a widespread sense of terror, with children bearing the brunt of the emotional toll.
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Gaza's healthcare system was already severely strained before this war, and the ongoing conflict has pushed it to the brink of collapse. Mental health experts had long warned of the devastating impact on children.
A 2022 report by Save the Children found that the psychosocial well-being of Gaza's children was "alarmingly low" after 11 days of fighting in 2021, leaving half of all Gaza children in need of support.
Mental health experts in Gaza stress that there is no such thing as "post-traumatic stress disorder" in Gaza because the trauma is ongoing, with repeated bouts of armed conflict spanning nearly two decades.
90% of Gaza kids suffer trauma
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reports that more than a month after the Israeli military attack ceased, 90 percent of children in the Gaza Strip continue to grapple with trauma related to the conflict.
In a newly released report, Euro-Med Monitor shed light on the suffering of the most vulnerable groups within the besieged Strip: women and children.
This report, titled "One War Older," notes that approximately 50 percent of Gaza's two million inhabitants are children under 15 years of age, with nearly half of the population being female.
According to the Euro-Med Monitor report, Israel conducted disproportionate attacks on densely populated residential areas, with a significant 75 percent of the casualties being children and women.
The impact on children and women is staggering. The report discloses that 241 children lost one or both parents due to the bombings, around 5,400 children completely lost their homes and 42,000 children had their homes partially damaged.
This comprehensive report results from over five weeks of diligent field research by Euro-Med Monitor's team. They documented numerous instances of civilian homes being directly targeted, many of which sheltered significant numbers of women and children in Gaza.
Over 72,000 children were internally displaced to UNRWA schools or the homes of relatives during the Israeli attack, and more than 4,000 children remain displaced to this day.
The report also highlights that nearly 2,500 pregnant women, expected to give birth in the next three months, are at risk of experiencing childbirth complications, either directly or indirectly caused by the attack.
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