In Gaza’s Tel al-Hawa neighborhood, where homes have turned to rubble and silence hangs heavy in the air, the war’s youngest victims are speaking out. Beneath a makeshift tent, 14-year-old Kamal Mahdi sits on damp blankets, surrounded by destruction — his eyes echoing the pain of a stolen childhood.
“Before the war, life was simple,” Kamal told Xinhua. “I went to school, played football, and listened to my grandfather’s stories about the Nakba. Now I understand what it means to lose everything.”
The life Kamal once knew shattered in October 2023 when an Israeli airstrike struck his neighborhood. Like thousands of other Palestinian children in Gaza, Kamal was forced to flee repeatedly — each time leaving behind memories, family mementos, and even the grave of his grandfather.
Beside him, his 12-year-old cousin Camelia clutches a worn-out school bag. “I miss school. I wanted to be a teacher,” she said, wiping dust-streaked tears from her face. “Now, even the wind scares me. I think it’s a plane. We don’t play hide-and-seek anymore. We just hide — and there’s nowhere safe.”
Since the war escalated in October 2023, Gaza’s health authorities report that more than 16,500 children have been killed, with thousands more injured, displaced, or psychologically scarred.
Nine-year-old Issa Ahmed, who lives in a tent in the al-Nuseirat refugee camp, lost both arms in an airstrike that also killed his father. Once a joyful child who loved drawing, Issa now dreams of having his arms back. “In my dreams, I run to my mother. But when I wake up, I remember,” he says.
His mother, Sarah, now cares for Issa and his siblings alone. “He asks if his arms will grow back,” she says. “I tell him he’s strong. What else can I say?”
In Deir al-Balah, 10-year-old Lujain Shehada stands in long lines for water. “I sleep on the ground. My back hurts. My feet are cold. I miss my bed and school,” she says.
Gaza’s Education System Collapses
According to Palestinian Education Minister Amjad Barham, over 95% of schools in Gaza are now closed, with only minimal alternative learning available due to power outages and unsafe conditions.
“Gaza’s children are lost in fear and confusion,” Barham said. “Psychological care is now as essential as food or shelter.”
Children’s advocacy organizations have raised alarm over a growing mental health crisis. Symptoms include PTSD, severe anxiety, depression, and mutism. Some children now write their names on their arms — fearing death without identification.
“Children scream in their sleep, some stop speaking altogether,” said Gaza-based psychologist Rawan Ghayada. “They have been robbed of safety, education, and joy. What they want is what every child deserves — peace.”
Despite their trauma, children like Kamal and Camelia cling to hope. “We don’t want much,” Kamal said, as he watched his cousin doze off. “Just peace. Just to live.”
Xinhua News Agency
