Hidden scars, broken dreams: Gaza’s children bear unseen weight of war

Before Israeli forces bombed his home and compelled his family to set out on a long journey to find safety elsewhere, 14-year-old Muhammed Mousa was a young boy like many others in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

Mousa wanted to become a computer programmer and try his luck at professional kickboxing if all his training paid off. He worked hard to improve his English skills and planned to apply for scholarships at foreign schools.

However, for the past four months, he didn’t have time to think about any of that.

Amid relentless Israeli bombings, his family—three sisters, one brother, and parents— have been on the constant move. Since October, they fled their home in Western Gaza’s Tel al-Hawa to Al-Maghazi in the centre and then to Rafah, joining 1.1 million other displaced Palestinians.

Now, all he thinks about is returning to the foregone safety of his home.

"I often think about returning to our neighbourhood after the war, but I'm worried that since our house and neighbourhood were bombed, and everything is not going to be the same," he told TRT World in an interview over the phone.

"It's also very stressful. Not just for me, but everyone in Rafah is tense, fearing a ground invasion. We've seen what they did in the north of Gaza, and it makes me nervous that the same might happen in Rafah.”

Mousa and the other hundreds of thousands of surviving children have been living in constant fear, facing the threats of death, severe injuries, torn-apart families, and the loss of loved ones, as the latest Israeli assault has proven to be devastating for children - over 12,600 young lives have been lost in just four months.

Longing for their daily routines

The reports and images emerging from Gaza go on to show what a terrible impact the Israel war has had on children. In one video, a young girl cries mistaking the sound of a thunderstorm for the bombs dropped by Israeli jets. Some children have attempted suicide. Others have been reported talking to their pets about death. And everywhere children have taken on the role of caregivers for younger siblings.

Young exhausted children, surrounded by the wreckage of their homes and schools, bear testimony to the psychological impact of the inhumane Israeli offensive.

Seven-year-old Maha Salloha, who had started her second year of school before October 7, can’t wait to go back to life as it was before.

“I really want these bad things to end soon. I am very tired. I hope that when everything returns to normal, I can play as I wish and return to my school even though it was destroyed,” she told TRT World over phone.

Maha and her family lived in the Al-Remal neighbourhood of northern Gaza. They have been displaced five times in the last couple of months and are now staying in Rafah.

“I dream of becoming a doctor so I can treat all the patients,” she says.

But first, she dreams of returning to her home, which has all her toys and clothes, and where she can hug her mother and father every morning without fearing for her safety.

"The destruction of Palestinian children’s routines, familiar surroundings, homes, schools, and the regular order of their lives has left them without stability," says Istanbul-based clinical psychologist Elif Banu Ucar. Her insights are informed by previous experiences working with children during therapy sessions, though she hasn’t directly worked with those in Gaza.

"Stability and routines are essential for children to feel secure."

Emphasising the critical importance of secure attachment as one of the five fundamental emotional needs for a child, she says the sense of security among Palestinian children has completely eroded.

“The pervasive uncertainty in Gaza has plunged all children into a profound state of insecurity—an environment where the next moment is unpredictable, necessitating constant movement and subjecting them to persistent danger and fear,” she says.

Compounded by the blockade, these children face chronic adversity, including poverty and starvation, further intensifying their plight, she tells TRT World.

A decade of trauma

While the recent Israeli assault marked the deadliest in the past decade for Palestinian children, for those like Mohammed and Maha born in Gaza, this isn’t the first Israeli military offensive they've witnessed, each leaving an enduring imprint on their brief lives.

Amidst this recurring cycle of violence, their childhoods have been shaped under the persistent shadow of war and siege.

Iman Farajallah, a clinical psychologist born and raised in Gaza, says the pervasive trauma manifested in Palestinian children due to successive Israeli offensives has impacted their mental and emotional well-being.

“Children in Gaza endure a form of trauma, which I call complex continuous trauma (CCT), characterised by prolonged exposure to multiple traumatic events, often beginning in early childhood and persisting over an extended period of time.”

In contrast to isolated traumatic incidents, CCT involves ongoing stressors that continually overwhelm a child's coping mechanisms, she adds.

Under the burden of these persistent stressors that surpass their coping abilities, children often display erratic behaviours, including suicide attempts, driven by feelings of despair and trauma.

Farajallah points out that for Palestinian children, such actions may function as a way to protest and reject the harsh reality of genocide, destruction, and loss.

“This results in a widespread sense of helplessness and hopelessness fueled by the 75-year Israeli Occupation's discriminatory and harsh policies.”

Is true healing ever possible for these children?

Both psychologists say that, given the current conditions, discussing any psychological treatment to heal them is impractical because the essential prerequisite for psychological well-being is the existence of a safe space and a sense of security.

Even if a ceasefire is established in Gaza, the ongoing circumstances fail to instil this crucial sense in children.

The first and most fundamental step on the path to mental well-being for children and adults in Gaza is the end of the occupation, they say.

Anyone aspiring to improve the psychological well-being of children and adults must advocate for the end of the occupation and the freedom of the Palestinian people.

“This is the psychological support that the people of Gaza need - advocate for their freedom,” says Elif Banu Ucar.