There is no ‘Post’ in Post Traumatic Stress for Children in Gaza

There is no “post” in post-traumatic stress for Palestinian children who have nowhere safe to return to. Many children in Gaza have known nothing but loss, displacement, and occupation. Over 17,000 Palestinian children have been reported orphaned since October 2023. 

PTSD was first recognised as a psychiatric diagnosis in 1980, originally to describe the psychological effects on American veterans returning from the Vietnam War. Unlike the children of Gaza, these were adult men who returned to safe homes, reunited with their families with access to healthcare and food. But Gaza’s children have no safety to return to—their homes lie in rubble, entire families have been wiped out, many children are severely injured and malnourished and they continue to live under the constant fear of bombings, sieges, and systematic violence.

There is nothing “post-traumatic” about their circumstances; their trauma is ongoing and demands global attention. We must refuse to let their existence and suffering be silenced once again. Don’t forget the children of Gaza. Don’t forget our children. 

Sources

United Nations. (2025). Press release https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-generation-has-been-traumatized-says-humanitarian-affairs-chief-briefing-security-council-on-plight-of-children-in-gaza-press-release/

Taha et al. (2023). Addressing the mental health crisis among children in Gaza. Retrieved from: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(24)00036-1/fulltext