Report: 91% of Gaza Children Suffer Psychological Trauma
GAZA STRIP (Dispatches) – Nine out of ten children in the Gaza Strip currently suffer some form of conflict-related trauma after the Zionist regime attack ended over a month ago, according to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor (Euro-Med Monitor).
A human rights report published on Friday revealed that 91 percent of children in the Gaza Strip had suffered psychological trauma following the latest Zionist aggression last May.
In addition to more than 250 martyrs claimed by the aggression, including entire families, hundreds were injured, thousands of homes were completely and partially destroyed, and drastic damage to the economy and infrastructure was done during the 11-day aggression.
A report issued by the organization entitled One War Older documents the most prominent statistics of the violations suffered by “the two most vulnerable groups in the besieged strip”, women and children. Around 50 percent of the population of the Gaza Strip – more than two million people – are children under the age of 15, and 49 percent are women.
The report pointed out that during the recent war against Gaza between 10-21 May, which the occupation called “Operation Guardian of the Walls”, the Zionist troops carried out disproportionate attacks against densely-populated residential neighborhoods with a majority population of children and women (75 percent).
In addition to the large numbers of fatalities and injuries among children and women, the Euro-Med Monitor disclosed that 241 children lost one or both parents as a result of the bombing, around 5,400 children lost their homes, and 42,000 children had their homes partially damaged.
Sixty-six children were killed in the bombing of Gaza by the Zionist regime, while 470 children and 310 women were injured.
The report comes after more than five weeks of field research conducted by Euro-Med Monitor’s team, which documented hundreds of cases of direct targeting against civilian homes housing large numbers of women and children.
Around 72,000 children were displaced in UNRWA schools or relatives’ homes during the attack, while more than 4,000 children currently remain displaced, according to the Euro-Med Monitor.
Mariam Dawwas, a Euro-Med Monitor field researcher, stated that she and the field team documented hundreds of cases of direct targeting of civilians in their homes in the unprecedented, large-scale and ferocious attack on the Gaza Strip.