The current war in Gaza and the military conflict between Israel and Hamas have had broad repercussions on various aspects of life within the densely populated Strip, with long-term effects on those who have lived through nearly 20 days so far, since the first bullet was fired, leaving psychological tragedies in their memories. It does not differentiate between big and small, it may last throughout life.
In a recently published report, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated that repeated rounds of conflict and military operations have left more than 816 children under the age of 18 in the Gaza Strip in need of psychological support.
Since the sudden Hamas attack, these children have lived under constant bombardment, with many of them displaced to UNRWA shelters after fleeing their homes without access to food or clean water.
A report published by The Guardian revealed that children in Gaza are suffering from symptoms of severe shock, given the scenes of killing and destruction they experienced more than two weeks after the Hamas attacks, which peaked from Sunday evening until Monday morning, with the Israeli army saying it carried out 300 air strikes. On the sector in one day.
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The British newspaper quoted the psychiatrist in Gaza, Fadel Abu Hin, as saying that the psychological impact of the war has begun to appear on children, especially with regard to “severe psychological trauma,” the symptoms of which include “fear, nervousness, convulsions, aggressive behavior, and bed-wetting.” And never leave their parents.”
The Palestinian woman Hanan Al-Nadi, who was forced to leave her home in the north of the Gaza Strip to the south, where she lives in an UNRWA school, also indicated this by saying that two of her children suffer from severe sleep disorders, which requires reassuring them and trying to alleviate their burden.
The World Health Organization estimated that 120,000 people suffer from psychological illnesses as a result of the last war alone, while the number is likely to increase significantly as the conflict continues, or if the Israeli army implements its ground invasion plan.
Therefore, urgent needs were provided to rescue those suffering from psychological trauma, in addition to basic health supplies to meet the needs of 300,000 people, according to the Regional Director of World Health, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, in his speech to “Sky News Arabia.”
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The American magazine Forbes said that children are bearing the brunt of the currently escalating conflict, adding that “the psychological damage represented by constant fear for their lives, a vision of the catastrophic destruction of their homes and property, temporary or even permanent displacement, and suffering from food insecurity, have long-term consequences.”
This humanitarian crisis is further exacerbated by the severe lack of adequate access to clean water and sanitation, as well as the rates of acute and chronic malnutrition, which are high among children in Gaza.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said that at least 5,100 people have been killed in Gaza so far, including more than 1,500 children, while 13,000 others were injured.
Massive shocks
Consultant psychiatrist Jamal Farwaiz, who worked as a psychiatrist consultant for the United Nations in a number of conflict areas, believes in an interview with Sky News Arabia that the current war will have severe psychological repercussions on all the approximately 2.5 million citizens of the Gaza Strip, however, The most affected groups, especially children, will experience the most severe shocks.
Froese identified the repercussions of the current war on the psychological state of the residents of the Gaza Strip at a number of points, saying:
The psychological impact of conflicts and wars varies from one person to another, as it is more harmful to neurotic people, who have high indicators of the risk of developing and developing the onset of psychological disorders, in addition to those suffering from mental illnesses such as depression or obsessive-compulsive disorder, or those who have hereditary genes for mental illness. Scenes of killing, blood, body parts, and destruction lead to severe psychological disturbances, and leave difficult memories that are not easily erased from the memory of those generations, especially if there is the death of someone close to them. During the widespread destruction, residents support each other psychologically, especially since the damage affected everyone, but the reaction differs among the residents themselves, especially those suffering from post-traumatic effects. The most common psychological symptoms depend on the mental illness and age, as they include: panic, sleep and eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and behavioral disorders in children, in addition to some physical symptoms resulting from stress, such as vomiting, infections of the skin, colon, and abdomen, and chronic pain. In any case, the psychological disorders will continue for quite a while, and may continue to appear in some people for about 6 consecutive months from the end of the war.
Children of Gaza live under the weight of fear as a result of the bombing
Do you suffer from psychological trauma?
Scientific studies
The American Mental Health Journal reported that 22 percent of people living in areas of armed conflict suffer from depression, anxiety, “post-traumatic stress disorder,” “bipolar disorder,” and “schizophrenia,” and that about 9 percent of the countries’ population Those who witness violent conflicts suffer from severe mental and psychological health disorders.
Research issued by the Royal College of Psychiatrists indicates that symptoms of psychological distress after wars appear after weeks or within 3 months, including physiological symptoms such as muscle pain, diarrhea, irregular pulse, headaches and appetite disorders.
Physiological symptoms coincide with psychological symptoms that control the sufferer, such as panic attacks, fear, depression, anxiety, and feelings of guilt, and may lead to suicidal thoughts and tendencies.
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2023-10-24 17:46:39
