Trapped and Scarred: The compounding mental harm inflicted on Palestinian children in Gaza

This brief looks at the immense impact of months of war on the mental health of children in Gaza and the West Bank, building on the findings of existing Save the Children research from 2018 and 2022.  The insights demonstrate that months of deadly bombardment, repeated forced displacement, and soaring risks of starvation and disease – on top of nearly 17 years of blockade – have caused profound mental harm to Palestinian children in Gaza.  It confirms that children are disproportionately affected by this crisis compared to adults, and without the right support to recover, are more vulnerable to suffering long-lasting damage.

Executive Summary (part)

“My son has stopped eating from fear and has become so thin now. All the time he asks me, ‘Daddy, are we going to die? There is nothing I can do to help them as their father, I don’t know what to say to them. They keep on asking this same question, but I have no answer for them.” Samer*, father

No child in Gaza has known life outside of interminable cyclical violence and a life-limiting land, air and sea blockade imposed by the Government of Israel. They have repeatedly experienced or witnessed traumatic events and an evisceration of their most fundamental human rights. This has taken a devastating – and compounding – toll on children’s mental health and psycho-social wellbeing, even before the latest escalation.

The almost 17-year blockade has led to chronic poverty, created a humanitarian crisis, and has undermined children’s rights – particularly the rights
to freedom of movement, to an adequate standard of living, health, education, work and family life, and to play. The relentless instability and violence have left children killed and maimed, destroyed their  homes, schools, hospitals and any sense of security, and ripped families and communities apart.

Children can be more vulnerable to certain mental health stressors such as traumatic experiences, conflict, or significant changes in their environment, due to their ongoing development and limited coping mechanisms. As such, any mental (and bodily) harm inflicted on children must be interpreted in line with their distinctive needs and vulnerabilities.

Since October 7th, the situation has deteriorated to previously unplumbed depths, prompting the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, to
describe Gaza as ‘uninhabitable’. Griffiths added that children are experiencing ‘No food. No water. No school. Nothing but the terrifying sounds of war, day in and day out.’3 UNICEF estimates that almost all of Gaza’s 1.2 million children need mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS).4
In 2018 and 2022, Save the Children conducted research on the impact that living under blockade and cyclical violence has had on children’s mental
health in Gaza (see ‘Methodology’ below for more information).

Palestinian children sit outside on mattresses at a camp for displaced people in Rafah, southern Gaza, on 13 December 2023

These demonstrate that further severe mental harm has been inflicted on Gaza’s children over the past few months, compounding the pre-existing mental health crisis: All parents, caregivers and partners consulted reported that this escalation is unlike any that came before. Participants attributed this to the intensity, duration and conduct of hostilities; the widespread, systematic and repeated displacement; the lack of access to essentials necessary for survival; and the decimation of public services.

However, given the concerns over the expected decline to children’s mental health and their ability to cope, Save the Children is presenting insights to its previous research.  Due to the current level of hostilities and insecurity, as well as the restrictions on providing meaningful follow-up support to children, it is not possible to conduct research meaningfully and responsibly on the same scale. However, given the concerns over the expected decline to children’s mental health and their ability to cope, Save the Children is presenting insights to its previous research.  For children, this translated into a destruction of the fundamental tenets of childhood.  Participants reported that children have no escape from the reality of war, no stable routine, no opportunity to learn or play – and for many, no family.

Full report