Rania Awad, professor of clinical psychiatry at Stanford University, said that the impact of the genocide experienced by the people of Gaza will continue for generations, and that those who witnessed it from a distance were also affected by the situation in the form of indirect trauma.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, Awad pointed out the painful impact of the devastating Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on the peoples of the world.
The doctor, who also works as director of the Mental Health and Islamic Psychology Laboratory at Stanford University, pointed out the need to distinguish between Palestinians who actually experience the psychological impact and those who witness it from afar.
She stated that people around the world are now watching the terrible images from Gaza in their hands on phones, computers and tablets, noting that we are in a time where you literally see genocide happening before your eyes, which was not the case before.
She added: Although we are far away, we are facing what is called indirect shock, which means that when you look at what happened from afar, and live that moment, you are also shocked.
She added: The truth is that there is a huge shock in Gaza and Palestine, but the shock that we are suffering from is also real and must be addressed.
The Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has left more than 117,000 Palestinian martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, and about 10,000 missing amid massive destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly.