At least 17,000 children in the Gaza Strip have been left unaccompanied or separated from their families nearly four months into Israel’s assault on the enclave, the United Nations children’s agency estimates. UNICEF stated that nearly all children in the strip also require mental health support.
Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF’s chief of communication for the occupied Palestinian territories, mentioned that each child has a heartbreaking story of loss and grief. He emphasized that the 17,000 figure corresponds to 1 percent of the overall displaced population – 1.7 million people. Crickx also stressed that tracing who the unaccompanied children were proving “extremely difficult” as they were sometimes brought to a hospital wounded or in shock and they “simply can’t even say their names.”
Furthermore, Crickx pointed out that the mental health of children in Gaza has been severely affected by the offensive, estimating that a million children in the Gaza Strip require mental health support. He highlighted that children in Gaza present symptoms like extremely high levels of persistent anxiety, loss of appetite, and emotional outbursts due to the ongoing conflict, which UNICEF believes that “almost all children are in need” of such help, totaling more than one million children.
According to the Palestinian health ministry, Israeli attacks have killed more than 27,100 people in Gaza since the war began on October 7, with around 11,500 of them being children. More than 66,200 others have been wounded amid a severe lack of medical supplies and functioning healthcare facilities. Thousands more are missing and are under the rubble.
With Israeli ground troops encircling most of northern, central, and eastern Gaza, families have been forced to flee their homes several times since the war began. Crickx called for a ceasefire so that UNICEF could conduct a proper count of children who are unaccompanied or separated, trace relatives, and deliver mental health support.
The situation in Gaza is dire, and the impact on children is devastating. The international community continues to closely monitor and respond to the ongoing crisis, working towards providing essential support and relief for the affected children and their families.
