UNITED NATIONS, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 13th Jan, 2025) The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has warned that children in Gaza are facing a mental health crisis and are in desperate need of psychosocial support, which is largely unavailable as Israel continues its genocidal war in the besieged enclave.
In a report on Sunday, UNICEF said Gaza’s children suffer from nightmares, anxiety and paralyzing fears due to Israel’s intense bombardment, loss of family members and the dire humanitarian situation in the blockaded territory.
The UN agency went on to say that at least 19,000 Palestinian children have been orphaned since the Israeli war on Gaza began in October 2023.
Mental health experts caution that the immense impact of months of war on the mental health of these children could persist for generations, it added.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza said at least 70 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli strikes in several areas across the besieged territory in the past five days, without providing details on the ages of the victims.
The latest figures came a day after an Israeli airstrike on a school housing “thousands of displaced people” killed eight people, including two children and two women, in northern Gaza’s Jabalia town.
In a recent report released on Wednesday, UNICEF said at least 74 children were killed in Israel’s relentless violence in the Gaza Strip during the first week of 2025.
“For the children of Gaza, the New Year has brought more death & suffering with at least 74 children reportedly killed,” Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell said, calling for an immediate ceasefire to end the violence.
She expressed deep concern over the number of children who have either been killed or have lost loved ones during the tragic beginning of the year
Since Oct. 2023, Israel has killed at least 46,565 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 109,378 others in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has been blocking and delaying the flow of food and basic supplies into Gaza and using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.
