Over a million Gaza children suffering mental health crisis: UNICEF

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
Today 09:48
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With symptoms ranging from nightmares to aggression, the psychological toll on Gaza children is unimaginable.

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Palestinian children injured in an Israeli airstrike await treatment at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, on October 17, 2023. (AFP)

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has raised the alarm over the mental health crisis affecting nearly all 1.1 million children in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli ongoing war in the blockaded territory.

In a report released Sunday, UNICEF revealed that Gaza’s children are grappling with nightmares, severe anxiety, and paralyzing fear caused by the relentless Israeli bombardments, the loss of family members, and the worsening humanitarian crisis.

The report also noted that at least 19,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned since the war started in October 2023. Mental health experts warn that the profound psychological effects of the war on these children could linger for generations.

This comes shortly after a recent study uncovered the harrowing impact of "Israel's" war on Gaza’s children, revealing that an overwhelming 96% feel their death is imminent and nearly half wish for it as an escape from their trauma. With symptoms ranging from nightmares to aggression, the psychological toll is unimaginable. Experts warn that the ongoing Israeli atrocities risk shaping a future defined by deep-rooted psychological scars.

Gaza's resilient children: Coping with trauma amid genocide

Doctors in Gaza have lately observed that children being treated in local hospitals tend to downplay their pain, possibly because they perceive it as insignificant compared to the broader struggle amid the ongoing Israeli genocide in their region.

Due to the Israeli airstrikes on #Gaza, thousands of Palestinian children have had to undergo amputation surgeries; hundreds were reported to have had these surgeries without anesthesia amid the brutal Israeli siege on the Strip.

Hospitals in Gaza are struggling to accommodate… pic.twitter.com/cFLWyZIMbJ
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) December 30, 2023

A meeting of international medical professionals convened in Doha, Qatar, to strategize the development of a new manual on trauma pain management last April aimed at aiding healthcare providers working with children in Gaza and similarly affected areas.

The upcoming manual will be released in both Arabic and English, with financial support from the World Innovation Summit for Health (Wish), the global health initiative of the Qatar Foundation based in Doha. This manual builds upon the work of Reavley and fellow members of the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership who developed the Paediatric Blast Injury Field Manual in 2019.