Latif Shehreen, Muaileq Enas Abdelraof A, Chaabo Hani, Rashid Fatima, Kelly Mairead, Khatri Nida, King Hannah Alice, Fournier Neil M
Children Not Numbers, 124 City Road, London, United Kingdom.
Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough ON, Canada.
East Mediterr Health J. 2025 May 5;31(4):210-215. doi: 10.26719/2025.31.4.210.
The conflict in Gaza has exposed children to continuous cycles of violence and trauma, profoundly affecting their mental health.
To illustrate the psychological burden on Gaza's children and highlight their complex mental health needs amid the conflict.
We report cases of 4 children receiving support from Children Not Numbers, who have lived through the violence in Gaza, illustrating the devastating impact of the conflict on their mental health.
The children exhibited symptoms of trauma, including emotional dysregulation, social withdrawal, grief, and worsening of pre-existing conditions. Common factors were displacement, loss of family members, physical injuries, and lack of mental health care resources.
The cases highlight the severe psychological impact of the conflict on children and the urgent need for interventions to address the crisis and provide mental health services to prevent long-term consequences for the wellbeing of children in Gaza.
加沙的冲突使儿童暴露于持续的暴力和创伤循环中,对他们的心理健康产生了深远影响。
阐述加沙儿童的心理负担,并凸显冲突期间他们复杂的心理健康需求。
我们报告了4名接受“儿童非数字”组织支持的儿童案例,这些儿童经历了加沙的暴力事件,说明了冲突对他们心理健康的毁灭性影响。
这些儿童表现出创伤症状,包括情绪失调、社交退缩、悲伤以及原有病情恶化。常见因素包括流离失所、家庭成员死亡、身体受伤以及缺乏心理健康护理资源。
这些案例凸显了冲突对儿童的严重心理影响,以及迫切需要采取干预措施来应对危机,并提供心理健康服务,以防止对加沙儿童的福祉造成长期影响。