Last updated on December 23rd, 2024 at 11:47 pm
WARNING: Graphic images of children who died of starvation.
Children in Gaza have suffered greatly as a result of the ongoing conflict. Many children have been traumatized by prolonged exposure to violence, which includes gunfire, aerial bombings, and the death of family members. This trauma has serious psychological repercussions, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety disorders.
An International news report covered reactions of the people who were living in a refugee camp that had just been bombed several times. They showed a young boy speaking to the camera, angry about what had just happened, before breaking down and sobbing as he spoke. He spoke about about what he had just witnessed and talked about how he had to help carry a decapitated body. The pain on his face will break your heart. NO CHILD should have to witness such horrors. It is terrorism.
Beyond just affecting their mental health, Gaza’s violence has an adverse effect on children’s physical health as well. Israel blocking food and medical supplies from entering the strip has resulted in many children going hungry & lacking access to quality medical care, which worsens their trauma and has long-term effects on their development.
Children have had limbs amputated with no anesthesia or pain medication. (Women are having C-sections without anesthesia as well.) The trauma that children in Gaza endure extends beyond the short-term repercussions of the violence & has long-term implications for their welfare. A child’s development is negatively impacted for life by the ongoing anxiety and stress of living in a conflict zone.
Studies have indicated that children who witness violence are more likely to struggle academically, develop unhealthy relationships, & struggle with emotional regulation. Their prospects for the future and general quality of life may be significantly impacted by this. To ensure that children in Gaza receive the assistance and interventions they require to heal and flourish, it is imperative to comprehend the full scope of the trauma they have endured.
Benjamin Netanyahu states that the goal of this war is to eradicate Hamas. What he doesn’t understand is that by committing acts of terrorism on the children of Gaza, he will only create future adults who hate Israel for killing their parents, maiming siblings, and starving other children. By killing civilians by the tens of thousands, they are only creating future members of Hamas.
That seems obvious to most, but his refusal to acknowledge that possible end result, makes it appear that his goal of this slaughter might actually be genocide—followed by a land-grab. Netanyahu has said before that Israel is meant to exist “from the river to the sea,” and Palestine is in the way of that prophecy.
Violence’s direct impact on mental health
Children who are exposed to conflict in Gaza on a regular basis suffer serious and long-lasting psychological effects. Children in the area are frequently diagnosed with anxiety, depression, and PTSD as a result of the ongoing stress and anxiety that comes with living in a war zone. Their mental health is severely impacted by this trauma, which can cause hypervigilance, nightmares, & disturbed sleep.
One mother in Gaza spoke to a reporter about her daughter losing all of her hair from the stress of the war. The girl cried as she said, “I just want to be able to wear ribbons in my hair again someday.”
| Impact of Violence on Children in Gaza | Statistics |
|---|---|
| Number of children affected by violence | Over 300,000 |
| Percentage of children with PTSD symptoms | Over 50% |
| Children experiencing disrupted education | 100% |
| Children with physical injuries | More than 12,000 |
| Children with emotional trauma | Nearly all |
Children Injured in Gaza exceeds 10,000, Death Toll: 15,000+
A Unicef volunteer talked about what they witnessed in Gaza:
These children have become the faces of the ongoing war. From devastating injuries sustained in airstrikes, to the trauma of being caught in violent clashes, their stories paint a harrowing picture of the human consequences of conflict.
“Imagine being strip-searched, left naked and questioned for hours. Told that you are safe and you can leave, you quickly walk away down the street, praying. But then, you are shot at. Your father is killed and a bullet penetrates your naked pelvis causing serious internal and external injuries that will require reconstructive surgery.
“At a field hospital in Khan Younis, Yousef told me this happened to him. He is 14.
“In the last two weeks, I also met a 9-year-old girl with major open wounds from a blast.
“A 16-year-old girl, orphaned and recovering from a broken leg.
“A 13-year boy still recovering three months after a difficult arm amputation without anaesthetic.
“And a 10-year-old boy in intensive care after being shot in the head while buying herbs – he died the next day.
“That’s just five children of those injured in the past six months. I met so many others and there are thousands of similar stories, likely far exceeding 12,000.
Long-term effects of the trauma children endure in Gaza
Beyond the immediate aftermath, children in Gaza bear psychological scars from the violence. Research indicates that children who witness violence are more likely to experience behavioral issues like aggression and trouble establishing positive relationships, which can negatively affect their general well-being and quality of life for a long time.
Implications for Development and Physical Health
The physical health of children in Gaza is also impacted by violence. Their trauma has been made worse by malnutrition and a lack of access to quality healthcare as a result of the ongoing conflict, which has had long-term effects on their development. Many children have already died from malnutrition and starvation due to Israel’s blockade of food and medical supplies. The photos of these children are hard to look at.
Graphic image warning: In the photos below, both of these children died, but only the second image was taken after death.
To give Gazan children the assistance and interventions they need to recover and flourish, it is critical to recognize the full scope of the psychological toll that violence takes on them. Even though the violence in Gaza has a significant negative influence on children, many of them show incredible fortitude & coping skills when faced with hardship.
Adaptive strategies are frequently developed by traumatized children to help them deal with their emotions and experiences. Getting social support from friends and family, creating art or music, and finding ways to express oneself through play or storytelling are some examples of these coping strategies. Volunteers are doing their best to protect children whose parents have been killed—keeping them occupied with clowns, games and movies.
Many Gazan children also exhibit resilience by figuring out how to stay hopeful and optimistic despite the constant conflict & hardship. It is critical that parents, guardians, & mental health specialists identify & encourage these coping strategies and resilience in traumatized children.
In order to help children develop healthy coping mechanisms that will benefit them well into adulthood, caregivers should create a safe and encouraging environment for them to express themselves and process their experiences. Also, it is imperative that support services and interventions be customized to meet the unique needs of Gazan children while taking into account their distinct social and cultural background.
Access to mental health services like counseling and therapy, as well as assistance for their physical health like adequate food and medical care, can be part of this. Also, in order to create a secure and encouraging space for kids to express themselves & work through their experiences, educators and caregivers must be trained in trauma-informed care.
The distinct cultural & social background of the area should be considered when providing support & interventions for children impacted by the violence in Gaza. This can involve giving kids the chance to express themselves creatively through art or music therapy, for example. In order to support children impacted by violence, it is also critical that interventions be community-based, involving local organizations & families. In order to help children in Gaza recover from their trauma and create better futures for themselves, we must support them holistically.
The long-term effects of trauma on Gazan children’s development are extensive and significant. Further aggravating the long-term effects of trauma on children’s development is the fact that the ongoing conflict in Gaza has resulted in widespread poverty and limited access to quality healthcare, food, clean water, and medication. To give Gazan children the support they require to flourish, it is imperative that parents, teachers, & legislators understand the long-term effects of trauma on their development.
We can assist kids in overcoming obstacles and creating better futures for themselves & their communities by addressing the long-term effects of trauma on development.
Hind Rajab
We can also help by calling out the war crimes, starvation, the intentional killing of young children by snipers, and the murder of Hind, the 5-year-old girl who was trapped in a car with 5 family members who had all been shot and killed by an Israeli tank.
Only Hind and her 15-year-old cousin were still alive in the car. The cousin called their version of 911 for help. After he was shot and killed through the car window, Hind ducked down in the back seat and took over the call. Her tiny voice on the recording of the call, and later the sound of tank machine gun fire, followed by her scream, was too much to bear. The woman on the phone with her and her team worked diligently to find her location as they spoke. When she was located, an ambulance crew coordinated their travel to go and rescue her with the IDF, who was aware of where they were going and who they were going to save. When the ambulance arrived, Hind sounded happy, but she quickly became concerned.
Hind described the Israeli tank that was now moving towards the car she hid in.
She tells the woman on the line, with fear in her voice that the tank had now driven up right next to the car. As the woman on the phone reassured her that the ambulance had arrived, and they could see her, the tankfired hundreds of shells, murdering little Hin, then they killed the ambulance crew who had arrived to save her. This happened over theSummer, during the college campus protests. It marked the exact moment when many understood, without a doubt, that Israel’s killing of civilian—of children—was intentional.
“Children are coming in with bullets in their skulls.”
Dr. Feroze Sidhwa spoke with Democracy Now about his op-ed in The New York Times that features harrowing stories from dozens of healthcare workers and CT scans of children shot in the head or the left side of the chest. The Times called the corresponding images of the patients too graphic to publish.
— Dr. Feroze Sidhwa
Recent reports from doctors in Gaza that they have seen hundreds of young children with bullets in their heads was just a new level of evil that many could not comprehend. Anyone who says the IDF is the “most moral military”, that they do “everything possible” to avoid civilian casualties, that the 42,000 Palestinians (25,000+ women and children)—-neither total including the 10,000+ bodies still buried under the rubble—are because Hamas is hiding in schools and hospitals, “using them as human shields”, is a LIAR.
Israel is not only targeting civilians and innocent children. The IDF has also been killing the people who could tell the rest of the world exactly what is happening in Gaza.
Journalists killed at unprecedented rate
The Committee to Protect Journalists reported over 128 journalists that have been killed since the war began. See their website for a database of every journalist killed as of October 23, 2024.
Journalists in Gaza face particularly high risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, famine, the displacement of 90% of Gaza’s population, and the destruction of 80% of its buildings. CPJ is investigating more than 130 additional cases of potential killings, arrests and injuries, but many are difficult to document amid these harsh conditions.
Humanitarian Aid Workers
Read about the humanitarian aid workers who were targeted and killed in an airstrike on their clearly marked vehicles as they traveled a route the IDF had authorized.
No one is safe in Gaza. Not even the innocent children who are suffering and dying in a war they likely don’t even understand.
