As a result of their exposure to psychological trauma caused by the violence of the bombing

Gaza children bear the brunt of the conflict between Israel and Hamas

• Civil Defense men exhume a dead Palestinian girl from under the rubble of a building that collapsed due to the violence of Israeli raids.

  Reuters

• "Susie" with her father after getting her out of the rubble.

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The Palestinian child, Suzi Eshkinna, was barely able to walk or eat, two days after the seven-year-old was pulled from the rubble of what was her family's former home, which was destroyed in a barrage of Israeli air strikes, and (Suzy) spent several hours buried under The rubble, while her brothers and her mother were dead around her.

The children were subjected to severe psychological trauma as a result of the intense Israeli bombing of the Gaza Strip, and some believe that such traumas have been repeatedly subjected to during their short life.

This is the fourth time in 12 years that the conflict has erupted between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), and each time Israel has launched massive raids on the densely populated Gaza Strip, in an effort to stop the rockets fired by Hamas at Israel.

According to what health officials in Gaza say, about 63 children have died out of 217 Palestinians who died in Gaza, since the outbreak of this latest conflict between Israel and "Hamas" on May 10, and on the Israeli side, 12 people were killed as a result of Hamas rockets. Among them is one soldier, in addition to a child.

Israel claims that it is doing everything it can to prevent civilian casualties, including issuing two warnings to empty the buildings before they are destroyed, and while Hamas was firing hundreds of rockets at Israel, most of which were intercepted by the Iron Dome, Israel was bombing hundreds of sites in Gaza, where two million people live crammed into a narrow urban fabric.

One of the fathers, weeping after learning of the death of his four children, said, “There were four. Where did they go now?” Another child appeared running toward a coffin on his way to the burial, crying out loudly for his father, and the coffin bearers were crying while carrying the father for burial.

The Ashkinna family was buried under the rubble of their house, after terrifying air strikes bombed the center of Gaza City, and the Israelis said they were targeting a network of tunnels belonging to "Hamas", and these raids took place without warning civilians.

Suzy's father, Riad Ishkinna, told the Associated Press how he was buried for five hours under the rubble of his house, pinned under pieces of concrete, and unable to reach his wife and five children, pointing to two of his daughters, "I could hear their voices under the rubble, and I heard The voice of (Dana) and (Zayn) calling: Papa, Papa, before the voice fell silent, and I realized that they had taken their last breaths.

After he was rescued and taken to the hospital, Riad said that his large family members and hospital staff hid from him the truth of what happened to his family as long as possible, and added: “I learned about their death one by one,” and eventually (Suzy) was brought to him She is alive, the second eldest of his three daughters and two sons, and the only survivor of the family.

7 hours under the rubble

Although Susie had a few bruises on her body, staying under the rubble for seven hours left the young girl in “severe psychological trauma,” as the pediatrician, Dr. Zuhair Al-Jarro, said, and the hospital was unable to provide the psychological treatment that was needed. You need it as a result of the conflict in Gaza, as the father said, adding: "She (Susie) has entered a state of deep depression."

While Suzy's father was talking to the Associated Press, she was sitting on a bed near him, staring sternly at the faces of those present, but she did not communicate with anyone with her eyes, and when she was asked what she wanted to become in the future, she turned her face away from everyone, When her father asked her the same question, she replied that she wanted to become a doctor, and then the child started crying out loud.

(Riyadh - 42), who recently stopped working as a waiter, as a result of the closure caused by the Corona pandemic, said (Suzy) is a smart, tech-loving child who loves smartphones and tablets, and added: “She explores these devices and has many experiences. in dealing with her more than me.” He said that she loves to study, and likes to gather her brothers in the “class game,” where she plays the role of the teacher, and the only family (Riyad) who died that day.

psychological and social programs

The Norwegian Refugee Council said that about 11 children who died in this war were subject to social and psychological programs that help children deal with the psychological trauma caused by children being repeatedly exposed to violence, and among them (Dana - eight years old) and her sister (Susie), "This is the fourth time for many of these children who have been exposed to violence," said Hozifa Yazigi, the field director of the Refugee Council, as the bombing around their homes.

Parents are desperately trying to calm their terrified children during a barrage of Israeli bombs falling near their homes, telling these youngsters that they are just fireworks, or trying to make the children happy. It will get worse, and more children will need support.”

The Norwegian Refugee Council works with 118 schools in Gaza, and treats about 75,000 students through its "Better Education Program". The program trains teachers to deal with children traumatized by violence, and how to organize joyful exercises to relieve stress and tension on children, and the program conducts home tours. To examine children in order to provide them with assistance.

• Warplanes struck Al-Wehda Street, which is the busiest commercial market in Gaza, where residential buildings are lined with shops, bakeries and cafes.

• The Norwegian Refugee Council works with 118 schools in Gaza and treats about 75,000 students through its Better Education Program. The program trains teachers to deal with children traumatized by violence, and how to organize joyful exercises to relieve stress and tension on children.

Fares Akram - The Associated Press's Gaza correspondent

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