Beyond the Bombing: The Consequences of Conflict on the Mental Health of Gazan Children

Author: Nadia Nasri, MA

May 20, 2026

Children in a refugee camp in Gaza. [Image credit: Hosny Salah via Pexels]

Israel has been occupying the Palestinian territories of the West Bank, Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip since 1967 (Amnesty International, 2025a). The Israeli military rules these territories, exerting extreme control over the Palestinian people, dictating their movement and controlling whether they can go to school or work, use their own land, leave the country, and access important resources such as clean water (Amnesty International, 2017). This is enforced by fences and roadblocks, requiring Palestinians to go through checkpoints and to adhere to curfews (Amnesty International, 2017). Numerous Palestinians have been, and continue to be, displaced from their land for the Israelis to occupy and construct settlements (Amnesty International, 2025a). The Palestinian people continuously experience denial of their basic human rights, are discriminated against, oppressed, and live in constant fear for their lives (Amnesty International, 2017). This was especially amplified in 2007 when Hamas, a Palestinian militant group, won the parliamentary elections and subsequently took over the Gaza Strip (Britannica Editors, 2026). Following Hamas’ takeover, and the escalating violence from their rocket attacks, Israel enacted a land, air, and sea blockade (Britannica Editors, 2026), citing the need to address security concerns and place pressure on Hamas (ICRC). Since then, there have been severe restrictions on the import of essential goods in these Israeli-controlled regions, which have damaged the economy and created resource scarcity, making the majority of the population reliant on international humanitarian aid (Amnesty International, 2025b). The October 7th attacks of 2023, which marked the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, further increased the violence and oppression against the Palestinian people (Amnesty International, 2025a). 

Israel has been accused of showing genocidal intent, as Israel has been purposely attacking sanitation facilities to prevent Palestinians from having clean water, attacking hospitals so they cannot have access to medical care, and preventing food and medical supplies from being delivered by blocking and attacking aid trucks (Human Rights Watch, 2024). The lack of food, clean water, and medical care has had severe effects on health, increasing the spread of disease, starvation, and dehydration (Human Rights Watch, 2024). Even with a ceasefire in place, Israel has continued their attacks, and the death and injury tolls of Palestinians continue to increase (Mansour, 2026). According to UNICEF, from the period between October 7th, 2023, to February 5th, 2026, 71,803 Palestinians have been killed, with an estimate of 21,289 of that number being children. Furthermore, 171,230 Palestinians have been injured, with 44,500 being children (UNICEF, 2026). Gaza also holds the largest group of children with amputations in recent history (International Rescue Committee, 2025), leaving a lasting reminder of the conflict and trauma they have suffered, and an additional struggle to adjust to life thereafter, which will especially be difficult without the appropriate medical resources and accommodations necessary for amputees. 

The mental health of children in Gaza is particularly of concern, as evidence shows the detrimental impact that the trauma and violence are having on their psychological state (Aqtam, 2025). UNICEF asserted in 2024 that mental health support was needed for every single child in Gaza (Ferguson, 2025), and the data from multiple studies substantiates this. Some studies report that 54% of children in Gaza suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), 41% suffer from depression, and 34% suffer from anxiety (Aqtam, 2025). Even more concerning, almost half of the children in Gaza are suicidal, as they wish to die due to what they have suffered (Borger, 2024). An alarming percentage of children in Gaza (96%) feel that their death is impending (Makki, 2026). These children are being denied a safe environment, the systems, and the experiences necessary for them to grow and thrive. While the typical childhood experience consists of attending school, learning, and playing with friends, Gazan children instead face bombardment, displacement, danger, hunger, the loss of their family, the loss of limbs, as well as continuous, unbearable grief. 

Prolonged stress and trauma can have extremely adverse effects on a developing child. Such circumstances interrupt early brain development and can permanently change the trajectories in the brain that are responsible for different types of development and functioning, like learning, memory, and the regulation of emotions (Safaria, 2026). As depicted in numerous studies, war and violence have profound effects on children’s neurocognitive development, resulting in impaired focus and slowed processing abilities. Safaria (2026) notes that anecdotal and research-based evidence show that these kinds of effects are already present among Gazan children, who are displaying signs of developmental regression, sleep disruptions, irritability, emotional detachment, and social withdrawal. Their everyday lives are constantly disrupted, which includes their ability to receive consistent education necessary for learning, development, and socialization (Safaria, 2026). Other recent studies on Palestinian children living in conflict areas, such as one conducted by Arvisais et al. (2026), echoed these findings on development, as the children exhibited deficiencies with executive functioning responsible for learning, solving problems, and making decisions. When there are impairments to cognitive and executive functioning during development, it impacts one’s ability to learn, excel academically, and create socio-economic stability in adulthood (Arvisais et al., 2026). 

Furthermore, many of Gaza’s children have been orphaned, separated from their families and family homes, and placed into unsafe and unstable environments such as refugee camps (Aldabbour et al., 2026). They are lacking the attachment figures, community, emotional support, and housing stability crucial for healthy development, and that normally would serve as a buffer against the fear and violence they are experiencing (Safaria, 2026). Being deprived of their basic needs, such as food and safety, due to blockades and continuous violence, forces these children to be in a perpetual state of survival (Safaria, 2026). Research on the ongoing traumatic stress experienced by Palestinian youth shows their tendencies to be hyper-alert and suppress their emotions (Zedan, 2025). The data has also shown they have become accustomed to danger and violence, and have a lack of trust in the very institutions that are designed to protect them (Zedan, 2025). Without intervention, they will have difficulty forming secure and trusting relationships due to fear that others could be a threat to them, therefore being denied the fulfillment of basic needs, such as safety and belonging (Qutishat, 2025), which will ultimately impact social cohesion (Zedan, 2025). Given the trauma and disruption, community is especially important for support and resiliency (Veronese et al., 2025). 

These experiences of extreme violence and trauma, many of which are repeated and continual, render these children at risk of the development of complex post-traumatic stress disorder (Complex PTSD) (Arvisais et al., 2026). Complex PTSD often involves flashbacks, avoidance, detachment, hypervigilance, and negative self-concept (Cleveland Clinic, 2023). Traumatic stress can alter several parts of the brain and how they function. For example, it can make lasting changes to the amygdala (the part of the brain that processes emotions), the hippocampus (the part of the brain that aids in learning and memory), and the prefrontal cortex (responsible for decision-making, planning, personality, and social conduct). The effects shape one’s experience and how they cope with future stressors in life (Arvisais et al., 2026). These symptoms are not exclusive to the period of conflict, concluding once it is over. They will continue well into one’s adulthood unless specific actions are taken to mitigate the damage to their physical and mental health (Safaria, 2026).

Aqtam (2025) mentions that one of the long-term risks of psychological trauma is intergenerational trauma, which impacts the mental health of future generations. When individuals are subjected to extremely traumatic events, the trauma can be passed to subsequent generations, as some studies suggest that trauma can cause epigenetic changes that modify gene expression (Yehuda & Lehrner, 2018). Behavioral patterns are also likely to be passed down to future generations, as chronic stress and insecure attachment styles will influence coping mechanisms and parenting styles, and thus influence descendants who could likely adopt those same behaviors, perpetuating the cycle of trauma (Safaria, 2026).

Addressing the trauma the children have endured will be challenging due to the decimated healthcare infrastructure. Based on reporting from the World Health Organization (WHO), all of the 36 hospitals in Gaza have been damaged, with only half of them partially operational (WHO Health Emergencies Programme). Most of the primary care facilities have been damaged, and the functioning hospitals are overwhelmed with the number of patients needing care (WHO Health Emergencies Programme). There is an extreme shortage of mental health practitioners in Gaza (Aqtam, 2025), hindering those from addressing the trauma they have suffered and establishing routine care for mental health moving forward. Prior to the conflict, there was less than 1 psychiatrist available per 100,000 people (Aqtam, 2025). This number is even worse considering displacement and fatalities since. In November 2023, the sole psychiatric hospital in Gaza was completely destroyed (Armitage, 2026). 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has cautioned that the interruption of healthcare services has worsened mental distress (Aqtam, 2025). Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MPHSS) services are constantly interrupted by attacks, which hinder providers from safely servicing those in need and obstruct efforts to establish continuity of care (Aqtam, 2025). There are also social and cultural stigmas surrounding receiving mental health services, requiring culturally competent providers to meet those needs (Aqtam, 2025). Even more challenging, infrastructure must be rebuilt in order to establish accessibility and stability of these services moving forward, which would necessitate humanitarian aid to do so (Aqtam, 2025). 

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mental health is a human right, and it includes “the right to available, accessible, acceptable and good quality care; and the right to liberty, independence and inclusion in the community.” Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted in 1948, asserts that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing, and medical care and necessary social services” (United Nations). It is clear that what has been inflicted upon the children in Gaza is a blatant violation of their human rights, especially the right to mental health, as it is foundational in achieving optimal well-being (Singh, 2023). Mental health is also connected to several core areas of one’s life, such as education, housing, and social engagement (Singh, 2023), all of which have been damaged in Gaza, depriving the children of the fulfillment of this essential human right. Swift action must be taken to stop these violations, and addressing the mental health of these vulnerable children who are predisposed to long-term harm to their mental well-being must be prioritized. 

The children in Gaza have experienced unimaginable violence and grief that has left them severely traumatized and with deteriorating mental health. They have been displaced from their homes and communities, have lost their family, and have lost the very things that make for a safe, healthy, and happy childhood that all children deserve. The data corroborates what we already know about the impacts of violence on childhood development and mental health. It has long been established that healthcare is a human right, and mental health is integral to that. These are serious violations of their human rights, warranting urgent action. Even when the bombing ends, the wounds will still be there. Some of which will last forever. 

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Glossary

• Blockade: The situation in which a country or place is surrounded by soldiers or ships to stop people or goods from going in or out.

• Bombardment: A continuous attack on a place with guns or bombs.

• Complex Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (Complex PTSD): A mental health condition that can develop in people who have been through prolonged and repeated trauma, particularly in childhood.

• Displacement: The situation in which people are forced to leave the place where they normally live.

• Genocide: The crime of intentionally destroying part or all of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, by killing people or by other methods.

• Hamas: A militant Palestinian nationalist and Islamist movement dedicated to the establishment of an independent Islamic state in historical Palestine

• Human Rights: Fundamental rights to which all human beings are equally entitled.

• Intergenerational trauma: The transmission of trauma or its legacy, in the form of a psychological consequence of an injury or attack, poverty, and so forth, from the generation experiencing the trauma to subsequent generations. 

• Mental Health: The component of behavioral health that includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.

• Occupation: A situation in which an army or group of people moves into and takes control of a place.

• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A mental health disorder that some people develop after they experience or see a traumatic event.

• The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): The United Nations agency for children works to protect the rights of every child, especially the most disadvantaged and those hardest to reach.

• World Health Organization (WHO): The United Nations agency dedicated to global health and safety.

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