Children in Gaza face injuries and bereavement after Israeli attacks
Al Jazeera reported on children wounded and orphaned in Gaza as UN agencies warn of widespread deaths, amputations and trauma.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Children in Gaza are being left with severe injuries, disabilities and the loss of parents after continued Israeli attacks, according to reporting by Al Jazeera and figures from United Nations agencies. The cases include a burned seven-year-old in Gaza City and a two-month-old amputee in Khan Younis, both now facing uncertain medical futures.
Al Jazeera reported that Hala Lubbad, 7, is being treated at al-Shifa Hospital after an Israeli attack struck her family’s Gaza City home before dawn on June 2 and caused a fire. Her aunt, Haneen Lubbad, told Al Jazeera that Hala’s father, a 42-year-old policeman, her mother, a 40-year-old teacher, and two siblings aged 10 and 17 were killed.
Haneen Lubbad said Hala and her 16-year-old brother Mohammed survived. She said the family had been asleep when the attack happened.
Doctors and psychologists have advised relatives to be cautious in telling Hala that her parents and siblings are dead, Haneen Lubbad told Al Jazeera. She said Hala asks about them every day and wants to speak to them.
Hala has had several operations, according to Al Jazeera. Her aunt said doctors warned that she needs urgent treatment outside Gaza to prevent her condition from worsening, including the possible loss of fingers because of tissue damage.
“She was a normal child, she used to laugh and play,” Haneen Lubbad told Al Jazeera. “Now she is between pain and fear.”
UN agencies warn of wider toll
The United Nations estimates that 17,000 children in Gaza have been orphaned or separated from parents or primary caregivers since Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023, according to Al Jazeera. The figure includes children who lost both parents and children who survived while other family members were killed.
UNICEF says at least 21,289 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza since the start of the war and 44,500 others have been wounded, according to Al Jazeera. Psychologists cited by Al Jazeera warned that children who lose parents or caregivers face heightened risks of trauma, anxiety, depression and the loss of a sense of safety.
Al Jazeera reported that Israeli attacks have continued after the October ceasefire announcement, killing more than 1,000 Palestinians. UNICEF said at least 60 boys and 40 girls were killed during the first three months of the ceasefire period, about one child per day, while warning the actual toll is likely higher, according to Al Jazeera.
Baby loses leg after al-Mawasi attack
In southern Gaza, Al Jazeera reported that two-month-old Mohammed al-Khatib had his left leg amputated after an Israeli attack on al-Mawasi on May 25. His father, Ahmed al-Khatib, said the strike also killed the baby’s mother while she was breastfeeding him.
Ahmed al-Khatib told Al Jazeera that his older son, two-and-a-half-year-old Adam, keeps searching for his mother and calling for her. He said he tries to explain that she has died, but Adam is too young to understand.
Mohammed remains at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and has undergone repeated surgeries, according to Al Jazeera. His father said doctors have warned that the baby’s arm may also be at risk of amputation.
The UN and humanitarian groups say Gaza now has one of the world’s highest rates of child amputees per capita, according to Al Jazeera. Health officials warned that delays in evacuating critically wounded children with burns, limb injuries and spinal trauma can cost them the chance to recover or receive rehabilitation.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.