Gaza's devastated families struggle to survive after Israel's offensive

The human toll of Israel's military offensive in Gaza is measured not only in lives lost but in the shattered families and enduring trauma left behind. According to data from Gaza's Health Ministry Information Center, approximately 22,000 women have been widowed after losing their husbands, the family breadwinners, while at least 58,000 children have lost one or both parents. These figures illustrate a profound breakdown of family and social structures across the Palestinian enclave.

Personal Stories of Loss and Resilience

The statistics translate into countless individual tragedies. Nibal al-Hissi, a mother of a two-year-old, lost both her hands and sustained other injuries in an October 2024 attack on the Bureij refugee camp. "It feels like my freedom has been taken away. It's like being in prison," she said, describing her inability to perform basic tasks or care for her child. She now lives in a badly damaged home with her family, hoping for prosthetic hands. Elsewhere, 17-year-old Nagham Mishmish from the Nuseirat camp was orphaned in a November 2023 attack. She now acts as both mother and father to her five younger siblings in a tent, stating, "I was deprived of my childhood. I am a child, and my siblings are children. We want a dignified life like children of the world."

A Hidden War on Healthcare

Beyond the immediate violence, a parallel health crisis is claiming lives. Gaza's Health Director, Munir al-Bursh, reported that 1,200 patients, including 155 children, have died because they could not leave the territory for critical medical treatment abroad, a consequence of Israel's ongoing siege. Hospitals face catastrophic shortages; 80,000 diabetics risk comas, 5,100 hypertension patients await potential strokes, and 45,000 heart patients live at high risk with no treatment available. Al-Bursh described Israel's blockade of medical supplies as "another hidden war."

A Generation Traumatized and a Society Unraveled

The cumulative effect is the systematic unraveling of Gazan society. An entire generation of children has been orphaned, traumatized, and forced into adult roles. The destruction extends beyond buildings to the very foundations of community life, with parents gone, caregivers incapacitated, and essential support systems obliterated. With medical infrastructure decimated and chronic shortages of everything from medicine to shelter, the survivors face a future defined by loss, disability, and an overwhelming struggle for basic survival.