In early February, Unicef revealed that at least 17,000 children in Gaza are "unaccompanied or separated" from their families and that almost all of the children in the Palestinian enclave, almost a million, are in need of care. psychological support, against more than 500,000 before the start of this war with Israel, triggered by the attack launched on October 7 by Hamas and its allies.
This attack left more than 1,160 dead, mostly civilians, according to a count carried out by AFP based on official Israeli figures. In response, Israel, which vowed to "annihilate" Hamas, launched a military offensive that left more than 28,000 dead, mostly women, children and adolescents, according to the Islamist movement's Ministry of Health.
Last December, Unicef described the Gaza Strip as the most dangerous place in the world for children and said that to guarantee their survival and allow humanitarian workers to stay and act, "humanitarian pauses are not necessary." simply not enough.”
To take stock of the situation of these children, France 24 interviewed Jonathan Crickx, spokesperson for Unicef in the Palestinian Territories, returning from a recent visit to Gaza.
France 24: How is medical and psychological care provided to injured children who find themselves alone in hospital, without their parents or isolated
?
Jonathan Crickx:
This conflict and crisis in the Gaza Strip particularly affects children. In addition to those killed in the bombings, we know that there are thousands and thousands of children injured. UNICEF met many of them and provided them with assistance. On site, the situation in hospitals is particularly tragic, for several reasons. Firstly because the number of hospitals still functional is very small today. Between 13 and 14 hospitals are partially functional out of a total of 36. Consequently, they are completely overwhelmed with occupancy rates exceeding 200 to 300%. And this situation has direct implications.
When we go to these hospitals, we see children in the hallways who may not immediately receive the care they need. This is therefore one of the priorities that Unicef has tried to address and manage by providing medical assistance and equipment for operating rooms to treat the injuries of these children. The latter are therefore medically treated in these hospitals, but in particularly difficult conditions. We believe that many of them are not receiving the medical assistance they need, at least not immediately. As for the psychosocial aspect, the needs are enormous. Since the start of the crisis, Unicef has provided psychological support to more than 40,000 children. But this remains insufficient, as the needs in this area are enormous. Already before the terrible events of October 7, there were around 500,000 children in need of psychological support. Today, it is estimated that all children in Gaza are affected, so the challenges are enormous.
You indicated that Unicef provides psychological support to these children. In what forms
?
It takes several forms: the first is support through recreational activities. We therefore organize drawing, dancing and singing workshops with children in shelters and refugee camps. I personally attended one of these activities and it is striking to see the smiles on their faces. These workshops are particularly important to allow them to escape from their daily lives for one or two hours. The activities allow them to cope, to a certain extent, with the trauma linked to the violence to which they have been exposed. Added to this is psychological support, provided in particular by our partners and which is aimed in particular at children in a state of shock.
Roaa Hassouna plays music for Palestinian children in a displaced persons camp in Rafah, December 18, 2023. © AFP (archives)
I have met several who have difficulty speaking or socializing, and who jump or cry when they hear the sound of a door slamming, or when they hear a bombing. There is also a program that aims to attempt, and it is important to clarify that it is only an attempt, to reunite these children with their extended family, with a cousin, an uncle or an aunt. Which is, it must be emphasized, difficult to do because hostilities are still ongoing and there is not a single place that is safe in the Gaza Strip. It is particularly complicated to reach many areas of the territory, particularly the north and the center.
Where are Gaza's orphans housed? Who takes care of them?
The top priority for us and for their well-being is to try and do everything possible to locate and identify isolated children and reunite them with their extended families. That's really our main goal because we think it's the best solution for them. But within the framework of 'tracing', which makes it possible to identify them and attempt to reunite them with their extended families, it is social workers, our partners, who carry out this mission. They are alarmed by the fact that it is more and more often the case that extended families cannot take care of these isolated children because they themselves struggle every day to feed their own. So the management of the situation of orphans depends on each individual case. They are therefore housed in centers where they benefit from psychological and medical assistance. When we see the scale of what is happening and the extent of the needs in Gaza, only a humanitarian ceasefire can help the 17,000 Palestinian children unaccompanied or separated from their parents.
It is for this reason that Unicef has been calling since the start of the conflict for a lasting humanitarian ceasefire allowing these children to be traced and reached and access to various areas of the Gaza Strip. Access to the northern Gaza Strip is extremely difficult. We know from one estimate that there are around 300,000 people still there, but we have no idea how many children have lost their parents or are isolated. It is therefore absolutely essential, to guarantee access to vital humanitarian aid which can save lives, but also for the monitoring and psychological support of these children, to conclude a humanitarian ceasefire agreement. It must be durable and lasting, the hostages must be released and, above all, there must be a political solution to this crisis. Because when we see the figures, this situation cannot continue. Children are paying a price that is far too high.
Few people are able to travel to the Gaza Strip. What struck you during your visit
?
I spent five days in Gaza, which is both very short and very long. I was able to meet a dozen children. I talked with them, and what struck me the most was that half of them had lost a family member, a younger brother, or two sisters... and of these twelve children, two lost both parents. Among them was a young girl named Razan. She is eleven years old and two months ago, while she was with her family at her uncle's house, the house was bombed. She lost her father and mother, her two sisters and her brother that day. She herself was injured in her left leg and was rushed to hospital. On site, his leg could not be saved, it had to be amputated. Today, Razan lives with his uncle and aunt in Rafah, where they were displaced and where I met them. They live in a school transformed into a reception center for refugees.
Razan told me about the day of the bombing, how she was sitting on the balcony and how in a split second there was nothing but dust and noise around her. She talked about how she lost her family, but she emphasized the leg she lost. In fact, she was quite brief in her story and I can understand that, because perhaps it was a way of not reliving this trauma again. But she said she really wanted a new leg because the situation in the shelter is not ideal at all, far from it, and her movements are very restricted. In the morning she sits down and at the end of the day, we come to pick her up and take her to her bed. She obviously does not have access to any facilities for people with reduced mobility. So whether it is to access the toilet or more simply food, Razan remains particularly dependent on others. She burst into tears and asked me for a new leg. It's a personal thing, but my feeling is that every time she saw her amputated leg, she thought about the extremely traumatic experience she went through and her missing parents.
Interview translated from the original into Arabic
The France 24 summary of the week
invites you to look back at the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 application