Children account for around half of the almost two million Gazans who have been forced to leave their homes and search for shelter elsewhere in the Strip, since Israel’s current military operation began. The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, estimates that around 17,000 have been orphaned. 

UNICEF spokesperson, Jonathan Crickx, visited Gaza in early February. Most of the children he met or spoke to had lost a family member. 

One girl he spoke to was with her family in her uncle’s house when it was bombed in the first weeks of the war. Her mother, father, brother, and two sisters were killed. Her leg had to be amputated. 

In a centre that hosts and cares for unaccompanied children, he saw two cousins, aged six and four. Their entire respective families were killed in the first half of December. The four-year-old girl – in particular – was still in shock.

Due to the sheer lack of food, water or shelter, extended families are distressed and face challenges to immediately take care of another child as they themselves are struggling to cater for their own children and family.

Children’s mental health is severely impacted. Symptoms include extremely high levels of persistent anxiety, loss of appetite, and an inability to sleep, They have emotional outbursts, or panic every time they hear the bombings.

Before this war, more than 500,000 children were already in need of mental health and psychosocial support in the Gaza Strip. Today, it is estimated that more than one million children are in need of such help.

“Not a single child, whatever the religion, the nationality, the language, the race, should ever be exposed to the level of violence seen on the 7th of October, or to the level of violence that we have witnessed since then”. Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF Head of Communications for UNICEF in Palestine.

Find out how to help the children of Gaza here.