SwedenLivingWorld world_2_fill WorldBusiness BusinessSports sports-soccer SportsEntertainmentEntertain

Gaza: All Children Suffer from Mental Illness

Bedwetting, nightmares, depression and parents who cannot take care of their children. After months of war, the people of Gaza are suffering from trauma and constant fear. I cannot give my children what they need, says Hamada who lost a newborn son.

» Updated: 20 July 2024, 09:47

» Published: 20 July 2024

Gaza: All Children Suffer from Mental Illness
Photo: Abdel Kareem Hana/AP/TT

Bedwetting, nightmares, depression, and parents who cannot take care of their children. After months of war, Gazans are suffering from trauma and constant fear.

I cannot give my children what they need, says Hamada, who lost a newborn son.

When the war just began, 40-year-old Nabila Hamada gave birth to twin boys at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. The hospital was full of displaced people and smelled of rotting bodies in the corridors.

When Israeli forces threatened to attack the hospital, Nabila and her husband fled with only one of the twins. The other was too weak to leave the hospital. Shortly after, Israeli forces struck, and Nabila never saw her newborn son again.

The trauma has made her unable to do most things – she can no longer handle daily tasks or take care of her family.

I cannot take care of my older children or give them the love they need, she tells the AP news agency.

Children most vulnerable

Nabila is one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians struggling with mental health issues due to the war, which broke out after Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.

Many have lost family members, experienced bombings, and fled. According to experts, depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and anger are common. Children are most vulnerable, especially since many parents cannot take care of them.

There are around 1.2 million children in need of support for mental health. It's basically all children living in Gaza, says Ulrike Julia Wendt, care coordinator at the organization Rescue, to AP.

Afraid of loud noises

Repeated displacement worsens the suffering. Nearly two million of Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been displaced from their homes, and many live in tent camps without access to clean water and food.

Many children have nightmares and have become bedwetters. Nashwa Nabil in Dayr al-Balah in central Gaza tells that her three children, aged between 10 and 13, have lost all sense of security since the war broke out.

They can no longer control themselves, wetting their beds and biting their clothes. They scream and are aggressive, she tells AP.

As soon as the children hear loud noises, they lie down in a fetal position or run and hide far from buildings, fearing they will be bombed.

When my son Moataz hears a plane or a tank, he hides in the tent.

Tags
TTT
By TTThis article has been altered and translated by Sweden Herald

More news

Dozens of men raped the wife: "Will never heal"
3 MIN READ

Dozens of men raped the wife: "Will never heal"

Democracy Profile Testifies in Notorious Case
2 MIN READ

Democracy Profile Testifies in Notorious Case

USA gives Ukraine green light for anti-personnel mines
1 MIN READ

USA gives Ukraine green light for anti-personnel mines

Trump wants wrestling mogul as minister
1 MIN READ

Trump wants wrestling mogul as minister

Zelensky: We will lose the war without US support
1 MIN READ

Zelensky: We will lose the war without US support

UN: Northern Gaza Has Not Received Aid for 40 Days
1 MIN READ

UN: Northern Gaza Has Not Received Aid for 40 Days

Doctors Without Borders Stop Operations in Haiti
1 MIN READ

Doctors Without Borders Stop Operations in Haiti

Reports: Opposition Leader in Uganda Abducted
1 MIN READ

Reports: Opposition Leader in Uganda Abducted

Trump saw Musk's rocket rise – and fall
1 MIN READ

Trump saw Musk's rocket rise – and fall

USA on Venezuela: The Opposition Leader is President
1 MIN READ

USA on Venezuela: The Opposition Leader is President

Dr. Oz takes a seat in Trump's government
1 MIN READ

Dr. Oz takes a seat in Trump's government

Israel Offers Reward to Free Hostages
2 MIN READ

Israel Offers Reward to Free Hostages

Forssell: Time for EU Proposals on Deportations
3 MIN READ

Forssell: Time for EU Proposals on Deportations

Prosecutors Open to Postponing Trump's Sentence
2 MIN READ

Prosecutors Open to Postponing Trump's Sentence

Haitian Police Killed 28 Alleged Gang Criminals
1 MIN READ

Haitian Police Killed 28 Alleged Gang Criminals

Ukraine Approves Large War Budget for 2025
1 MIN READ

Ukraine Approves Large War Budget for 2025

Minister blamed women's murders on migrants
1 MIN READ

Minister blamed women's murders on migrants

North Macedonia gets top post in NATO
1 MIN READ

North Macedonia gets top post in NATO

After the Fiasco: The Royal Couple Back in Valencia
2 MIN READ

After the Fiasco: The Royal Couple Back in Valencia

Russian threat after Ukrainian Atacms missile strike
2 MIN READ

Russian threat after Ukrainian Atacms missile strike