During the recent bombings in Gaza, nearly 500 people have been reported dead. At least 130 of the dead are children, according to the UN children's fund Unicef.
People have lost all hope and are desperate. They feel abandoned by the world, as if the rest of the world doesn't care about their suffering, says Rosalia Bollen.
She is located in al-Mawasi, near Rafah in southern Gaza, and has been stationed there for six months. Bollen has herself seen and heard the bombs in recent days.
Children are afraid of dying, and perhaps most of all of their parents dying. They know that there is no safe place in Gaza, she says.
Longing for their beds
During the two-month ceasefire, she often got the question from children if it was safe now.
Children tugged at my pants and asked if it was really peaceful now or if the fighting would start again.
Another fear she often encountered was the fear of having to flee again.
Parents have come up to me and asked how they should do: if they should leave the tent camp and head back to their homes in northern Gaza to rebuild them again – or if it's too risky because they don't want to be forced to flee again.
Children talk to me about their bedrooms. They long to sleep in their own beds and play with their toys.
"Must not become desensitized"
Unicef is trying to help children get a break from the war.
The children get crayons and paper and paint and draw passionately, just like children everywhere. We also have music and dance, which brightens up their world for a few short moments and makes them forget the war, even if only for a moment, she says.
About 14,500 children have died and tens of thousands have been injured during the war between Israel and Hamas. Many of the children in Gaza are traumatized and have difficulty processing their experiences, according to Rosalia Bollen.
Tens of thousands of children have been driven from their homes.
We must not become desensitized to these numbers. These are children we're talking about, just like children in Sweden, Norway, or the Netherlands.
