Gaza Herald – Months after a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, children across the Gaza Strip continue to bear the devastating consequences of ongoing Israeli attacks, with many left orphaned, severely injured, or permanently disabled.
At Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, seven-year-old Hala Lubbad remains hospitalized after suffering extensive burns when an Israeli airstrike struck her family home on June 2, killing her parents and two siblings.
Hala survived alongside her 16-year-old brother, but her recovery has been marked by repeated surgeries, overwhelming physical pain, and profound psychological trauma. Family members say she continues asking for her parents every day, unaware they were killed in the attack.
Doctors treating Hala warn that she requires urgent medical evacuation for specialized treatment and rehabilitation unavailable inside Gaza. Without advanced care, worsening tissue damage could result in the loss of several fingers.
Relatives say the emotional toll has become as severe as her physical injuries, describing a child who once enjoyed playing and laughing but now lives in constant fear while struggling to process the loss of her family.
Hala’s story reflects a wider humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of children across the Gaza Strip.
According to United Nations estimates, approximately 17,000 Palestinian children have either been orphaned or separated from their parents or primary caregivers since the outbreak of the genocide in October 2023. Many are now the sole surviving members of their families, facing long-term psychological trauma, anxiety, and uncertainty about their future.
UNICEF estimates that more than 21,000 Palestinian children have been killed and over 44,000 injured since the beginning of the genocide, while attacks have continued despite the ceasefire, claiming the lives of additional children and leaving hundreds more wounded.
This Israeli genocide has also produced one of the world’s highest numbers of child amputees relative to the population.
Among them is two-month-old Mohammed al-Khatib, whose left leg was amputated after an Israeli strike targeted Al-Mawasi in southern Gaza on May 25, killing his mother as she breastfed him.
His father, Ahmed al-Khatib, now spends his days moving between hospital wards, caring for Mohammed while also trying to comfort his older son, Adam, who continues searching for his mother and calling out for her.
Mohammed has undergone multiple surgeries since the attack, with doctors warning that additional complications could place one of his arms at risk of amputation.
Health officials in Gaza say many critically injured children require specialized surgeries, burn treatment, orthopedic reconstruction, and long-term rehabilitation unavailable within the Strip. Medical teams warn that delays in allowing patients to travel for treatment significantly reduce their chances of recovery and increase the risk of permanent disability.
As hospitals continue operating under severe resource shortages, thousands of injured children remain trapped between urgent medical needs and limited opportunities to access life-saving treatment outside Gaza, while families struggle to cope with the lasting physical and emotional scars left by the war.
