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Jabalia, Gaza – Omar Halawa got up from his chair, similar immoderate 13-year-old kid would. But he had forgotten a devastating item astir himself: helium lone had 1 leg.
“He fell disconnected the chair,” his parent Yasmin Halawa told Al Jazeera. “It is precise bittersweet for america all, seeing him similar that.”
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Omar mislaid his close limb 3 months ago. On October 1, 2025, arsenic Israel intensified its crushed penetration of Gaza amid ceasefire talks with Hamas, Omar was connected the thoroughfare with his 11-year-old sister Layan, relative Moath Halawa, 13, and person Mohammed Al Siksik, besides 13, to get h2o from a tanker that had travel adjacent their campy successful northbound Gaza’s Jabalia area.
“It was intolerable to wage 6000 shekels for a conveyance to get america to the south, truthful we had decided to enactment successful the north,” recalled Yasmin, adding that the household had been displaced much than 15 times during the Israeli genocidal warfare that began successful October 2023.
“The drinking h2o proviso became precise uncommon successful the area, truthful the children of the campy decided to get up conscionable aft dawn to beryllium capable to get successful enactment for a gallon of water. Moments later, the shelling started and we felt acrophobic for our children, Layan and Omar,” she said.
The Halawa household successful a makeshift structure successful the northbound of the Gaza Strip/ [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]As she reeled from doubts implicit sending the children to get water, they heard idiosyncratic shouting that Omar had been deed by the shelling.
“The archetypal happening helium asked erstwhile helium woke up aft country was astir his person and relative who were successful enactment with him for water,” said Yasmin. “They were some killed.”
The household buried Omar’s amputated limb adjacent their tent. He visits the sedate each day. “My limb went to eden earlier me,” helium says.
‘Worst spot successful the satellite for children’
Omar had been grappling with deaths and destructions arsenic soon arsenic the warfare started. In November 2023, arsenic Israel bombed bluish Gaza, Layan was injured by shattered solid of the windows each astir their house.
“After a horrific night, we near the location raising a achromatic portion of cloth truthful that the Israeli soldiers don’t sprout astatine us, holding Hatem betwixt my arms and walking with Omar and Layan by my side. On the mode out, they saw the beheaded assemblage of their eight-year-old relative on with different martyrs. They froze successful fearfulness and started screaming and crying,” said Yasmin. Hatem is four.
“My children person been emotionally disturbed aft that experience. Layan struggled with bedwetting and Omar is acrophobic each the time, adjacent from the dependable of a seat hitting the floor.”
Omar and Layal are among tens of thousands of children successful Gaza bearing the scars of a brutal genocide that has killed much than 71,000 Palestinians, 20,000 of them children. Nearly 42,000 different children person been injured, fractional of them sustaining life-altering injuries, arsenic the Israeli attacks proceed successful usurpation of a United States-brokered ceasefire.
At slightest 39,000 children successful Gaza are present near without 1 oregon some parents – the largest orphan situation successful modern history.
“Instead of enjoying their childhood, Palestinian children are surviving successful the worst spot successful the satellite for children. Even aft the agreed ceasefire, much than 95 children person been killed,” UNICEF spokesperson Kazem Abu Khalaf told Al Jazeera, adding that much than 4,000 children successful Gaza request contiguous aesculapian evacuation.
Two years of terrible Israeli blockade connected nutrient and indispensable assistance has made the humanitarian situation adjacent worse. “Almost 165 children person died owed to malnutrition and hunger successful Gaza since October 2023,” Khalaf said.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) says 1.6 cardinal Palestinians successful Gaza, oregon 77 percent of its population, including astir 800,000 children, volition proceed to look acute nutrient insecurity successful 2026.
‘On acold days, it hurts adjacent more’
Among the children successful hopeless request of nutrition is Rahaf Al Najjar, who is besides 13 similar Omar.
Rahaf was fetching nutrient for her 5 siblings successful northwest Gaza’s Sudaniya country successful September past twelvemonth erstwhile occurrence from an Israeli quadcopter pierced some her legs.
“She is healing slowly. I americium lone capable to supply her 4 eggs a week. She inactive has inflammation successful some her legs and needs much nutritious nutrient to heal faster. I can’t bring nutrient oregon chickenhearted for her, I don’t person capable wealth for that. Sometimes, I bring her a effect to devour without letting her siblings cognize astir it,” Rahaf’s 35-year-old parent Buthayna Al Najjar told Al Jazeera astatine their structure successful Jabalia.
Rahaf says the ongoing harsh wintertime has made her wounded worse. “On acold days, it hurts adjacent more. I consciousness electric‑like jolts successful my leg. I request to instrumentality a medicine to consciousness amended and beryllium capable to sleep,” she told Al Jazeera.
Rahaf witnessed the sidesplitting of her begetter Ghassan Al Najjar, who, she says, “used to pamper her much than her different siblings”.
Ghassan died successful an Israeli drone onslaught connected November 5, 2024 portion helium was pulling the assemblage of his relative astatine Jabalia camp. Buthayna says Rahaf was capable to crawl to her wounded begetter and dragged his assemblage wrong a tent.
“Her begetter was inactive alive. He told her: ‘Be strong, my daughter, and accidental salam to your mom’. Then helium took his past enactment portion she was inactive holding him, screaming and crying,” the parent recalled.
Rahaf says she misses her begetter astir erstwhile she is bare oregon successful pain. She besides misses school. “I privation I could get backmost to school. I miss drafting and PE classes,” she told Al Jazeera.
Buthayna says she has nary wealth near for her children’s education. “I sold my mobile aft losing my husband, truthful I could get my kids immoderate food,” she said.
A Palestinian teacher teaching children successful a structure adjacent Gaza City [Abdelhakim Abu Riash/Al Jazeera]Fears of losing ‘a full generation’
Interrupted acquisition and a nonaccomplishment of acquainted routines has worsened feelings of uncertainty and helplessness among Gaza’s children, who person mislaid 2 years of schooling owed to the bombing and displacement, and are forced to unrecorded successful tents and assistance successful fetching nutrient and h2o for their displaced families.
“We person mislaid much than 20,000 students successful the Israeli warfare during 2 years of aggression,” Jawad Shiekh-Khalil, manager of acquisition successful occidental Gaza, told Al Jazeera. “Ninety percent of the Ministry of Education’s buildings person been wholly oregon partially destroyed successful the Israeli bombardment, and the remaining ones person turned into shelters for the displaced families.”
He said they person implemented a caller strategy, called an ‘Emergency Plan’, to marque up for the acquisition they person misses for 2 years.
“Since the ceasefire, Israel has restricted introduction of schoolhouse supplies oregon stationery. Students can’t find paper, pencils, notebooks, oregon adjacent chalk. We person astir 400 registered acquisition points – astir of them are tents dispersed crossed the Strip, for astir 150,000 students,” Shiekh-Khalil said.
UNICEF’s Khalaf besides said they are launching a back-to-learning programme to get Gaza’s children resume their acquisition and “make definite they don’t hide what they person learned before”.
“We can’t hold to suffer a full generation,” helium said.
‘Traumatised children’
Bahzad Al Akhras, a kid and teen psychiatrist successful Gaza, told Al Jazeera that losing world acquisition for 2 years affects children’s cognitive, emotional, and societal developments.
“Being distant from schoolhouse and having schools arsenic shelters affects however children comprehend the schoolhouse arsenic related to crowdedness and harsh surviving conditions,” helium said. “A pupil volition not beryllium capable to make cognitive functions adequately erstwhile distant from world situation and the adjacent support.”
Al Akhras said the genocidal warfare has impacted the children of Gaza successful respective ways.
“The nonstop interaction is seen successful children who were trapped nether the rubble, children who sustained terrible injuries, orphaned children, and those who had experiences with the Israeli soldiers astatine the checkpoints. The indirect interaction is seen successful the illness of the acquisition strategy arsenic good arsenic the ongoing starvation,” helium said.
The psychiatrist said children, dissimilar adults, are incapable to explicit themselves verbally, often displaying behavioral manifestations of trauma.
“Traumatised children amusement symptoms of behavioral changes. They go isolated oregon hyperactive, disobedient, much violent, oregon distracted, portion immoderate person problems with representation oregon forgetting. Many person to woody with bed-wetting,” Al Akhras said.
Omar is undergoing specified a trauma. “He has begun to suffer his hair. He doesn’t slumber good astatine night. He gets up often, screaming of nightmares oregon feeling that helium has his limb back, and feeling the symptom of losing a limb,” Yasmin told Al Jazeera.
The Palestinian lad says helium feels helpless.
“I endure a batch erstwhile I request to usage the toilet with 1 leg. It hurts a lot. I can’t adjacent transportation a packet of vegetables. I autumn down,” helium says, hoping to get a prosthetic limb soon.
“First happening I privation to bash aft getting a prosthetic limb is to play shot and aquatics successful the sea. I emotion swimming.”
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