Fearful Eyes Watching the Sky… A Childhood Stolen in Gaza and the West Bank

In a small tent barely shielding his body, Ali sits staring at the sky. Yet he doesn’t see freedom or open space there—only a ceiling that could collapse at any moment. The sounds of planes and gunfire haven’t left his head for two years.
Two years of war have left nothing but fear and heavy waiting, where nights become a space for postponed survival rather than sleep. Every night, Ali whispers to himself: “I’ve forgotten what it means to sleep without fear, under a roof that protects, not one that could fall on me.” In his eyes, everything has become a potential threat—even the air he breathes. Childhood is no longer a right to be lived; it is a silent burden, unbearably heavy.
A few meters away, in another dilapidated home, a seventeen-year-old girl sits. Displacement, the loss of home and livelihood, and economic collapse forced her and her family to make a harsh decision: early marriage. In a broken voice, she says: “I had no choice but to accept.” The new life brought harsher realities, responsibilities beyond her years, and early pregnancy that amplifies fear and psychological pressure. “I needed to live my age, to learn, to choose… but the war destroyed us. I feel dead, and I wish it were real,” she adds.

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Between Ali and this girl, the scope of despair widens. Children suffer from sleep disorders and isolation, teenagers drown in deep feelings of futility, and girls face extreme vulnerability, with rising rates of child marriage and early pregnancy. Estimates show that 63% of girls married early have experienced various forms of violence, while more than a hundred cases of suicide or attempted suicide have been documented among survivors of violence.
In the West Bank, the situation is no less severe, though its form differs. Children and youth live under constant pressure, caught between the fear of raids, movement restrictions, and uncertainty surrounding every aspect of life—from work and education to basic services. Checkpoints, barriers, and ongoing violence make daily life difficult, and chronic anxiety becomes an inseparable part of their routine.

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The numbers provided by specialized agencies are shocking, yet they tell the truth: over one million children in Gaza need psychosocial support; 61% suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, 38% from depression, and 41% from anxiety, while one in five adults thinks about suicide almost daily. These are not just statistics—they are lives lived under constant threat, where fear becomes a permanent companion, and survival is fragile.
Psychologist Mo’een Hussein describes the situation as “a continuous collective trauma, where loss intertwines with fear, and insecurity becomes the norm.” Children suffer sleep disorders and isolation, while adolescents sink into a profound sense of futility, accompanied by recurring thoughts of death. Ignoring this reality only postpones its consequences, leaving a heavy impact on an entire generation.

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In the refugee camps of Gaza and the West Bank, youth and children move as if on a shaky bridge, each step potentially their last in a world that guarantees no safety. Schools are no longer just places of learning but spaces to escape domestic pressures and psychological disorientation, often becoming empty façades amid the absence of psychosocial support.
Two years of war have left not only material destruction but silent scars that creep into the depths of the soul. In Gaza, the war does not end with a ceasefire; it begins inside the psyche, continuing without truce, slowly reshaping the human being from within, imprinting fear, anxiety, and fragility onto every child and young person.

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In this story, fear becomes a daily companion, and survival a constant struggle. Children dream of sleeping without nightmares, adolescents wish for moments of simple reassurance, and girls long for the freedom to choose their destiny. These are not mere stories—they are real voices telling the story of a generation living under the weight of war and ongoing trauma.

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