Acute trauma: The ever-present wounds of Gaza’s children from Israel’s war

Israel’s genocidal war may never truly end, according to many residents of Gaza. Loud booms would still be heard in the minds of Palestinians who survived more than two years of bloody conflict, even if the fragile United States-brokered ceasefire had been successful in halting deadly attacks on the besieged enclave, which it has not.

Abed al-Aziz Abu Hawishal, 15, has witnessed scenes unlike any other teenager. When the Israeli military stormed into Gaza City, we were able to get refuge in a house there, he claimed. One of the soldiers pointed his gun at me while they dragged me close to a tank.

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He is now withdrawn and haunted by the thoughts of an “massacre” he witnessed close to his house. Our house was “bodies flying over it.” He claimed that as I ran after a woman without a head and as he ran, I even stepped on bodies.

His body responded to his psychological trauma, which resulted in high blood pressure, chronic diarrhoea, and, most recently, kidney failure.

A 15-year-old girl reported witnessing a “massacre” close to her home in Gaza City [Screen grab/Al Jazeera].

Lana al-Sharif, 8, has also been left with repercussions by her psychological trauma. Her former dark and shiny mop of hair is now gray, making her residents of Khan Younis refer to her as “the elderly child.”

According to her father, Khalil al-Shareef, Lana was saved from an Israeli airstrike that toppled their home. Due to exposure to the smoke and chemicals from the missiles, she developed vitiligo, a chronic skin condition that causes the loss of skin, hair, and eye color.

Her father claimed that “many doctors have tried to treat her, but with success.” She panics whenever she senses an explosion.

Psychologists warn that more than 80% of children in Gaza currently exhibit signs of severe trauma.

Gaza Children — After surviving an Israeli attack, Lana al-Sharif, 8, developed vitiligo.

Mental trauma is frequently accompanied by symptoms like headaches, stomach aches, bone pain, hair loss, vitiligo, and weakened immunity, according to Sabreen Abu Rahman, a therapist who treats traumatized children.

More than 64, 000 children have died or been hurt in Gaza, according to UNICEF, according to its report. Essential medical services have been rendered obsolete while homes, hospitals, and schools have been destroyed.

One million children have endured the daily horrors of being a child in the world’s most dangerous place, leaving them with wounds of fear, loss, and grief, according to UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder.

Difficulty of Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks throughout the enclave since a ceasefire was declared on October 10. 104 people were killed in Israeli attacks, including 20 women and 46 children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry from Tuesday through Wednesday.