A study conducted by a center specializing in mental health in the Gaza Strip revealed that 96% of children in the Gaza Strip feel that death is imminent, while 87% of children show extreme fear, while 79% of them suffer from nightmares.
The study, prepared by the Palestinian Community Training and Crisis Management Centre, with support from the War Children Coalition, showed that more than a year of displacement and continuous bombing left the most vulnerable children in the Gaza Strip suffering from severe psychological crises, with their families on the brink of collapse.
The study included interviews with 504 families, including children with disabilities, injuries, or separation from their families, and concluded horrific results regarding the mental health of children in the Strip.
The study reported that 92% of children in Gaza do not accept reality, 77% avoid talking about traumatic events, while 73% of them show aggressive behavior, while 49% of the children in the study sample said that they wish to die because of the war.
According to the study, 88% of families were displaced several times, while 21% of families moved 6 or more times to escape danger.
Most families live on a daily income equivalent to $4.19, with 80% of breadwinners unemployed, and about 24% of families are run by children under 16 years old.
The latest official statistics on the losses and victims of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip showed that the number of child martyrs reached 17,818 martyrs, including 238 infants who were born and martyred in the genocidal war, 853 children who were martyred during the war and were less than a year old, and 44 who were martyred as a result. Malnutrition, food shortages and famine, with children and women making up 70% of the total victims.
The statistics also showed that 35,60 children live without their parents or one of them, while 3,500 children are at risk of death due to malnutrition and lack of food.