Gaza Herald – For Palestinian children living with autism in Gaza, Israel’s war has destroyed far more than homes and schools. It has shattered the routines, safe spaces and specialised services that many autistic children depend on to feel secure and regulate their senses.
In Khan Younis, 16-year-old Ahmed Hatem al-Mahabeel stands among the ruins of his destroyed home. Before Israel’s war, Ahmed was making progress at school under specialist supervision, training at a football academy, memorising the Quran and excelling in English.
Today, his bedroom, school and sports academy are gone.
Ahmed’s mother says the repeated sound of explosions triggers severe panic attacks. He covers his ears and rocks his body in an attempt to calm himself, while extreme terror can lead him to hurt himself by striking his head against the ground.
For autistic children, specialists say, predictable routines and calm environments are not luxuries but essential sources of neurological and emotional stability. Israel’s bombardment, repeated displacement and life in overcrowded tents have stripped away those foundations.
Psychological specialist Diaa Abu Aoun, who worked with Ahmed, said continuous explosions can overwhelm an autistic child’s sensory system, contributing to severe insomnia, panic attacks, digestive problems, uncontrolled screaming and self-harming behaviour.
In central Gaza’s Nuseirat camp, 19-year-old Muneer al-Haj has experienced a similar deterioration. Before the war, Muneer attended school, communicated effectively and demonstrated a talent for drawing while following a specialised rehabilitation programme.
The Israeli bombardment and shortages of essential medicines have since contributed to a severe regression in his condition. His family says he now experiences intense screaming episodes and seizure-like symptoms when exposed to the sound of attacks.
His father, known as Abu Muneer, described how the destruction of their safe environment transformed his son’s life.
The family has also been forced to cope with medication shortages, with Muneer receiving only a reduced dose of his prescribed sedative.
The disruption of specialised treatment poses an additional danger for autistic children and others requiring neurological or psychiatric care.
Specialists warn that abruptly interrupting or reducing psychiatric and anti-convulsant medications can destabilise the nervous system, increasing the risk of severe episodes, self-harm and other dangerous symptoms.
Gaza’s already devastated healthcare system has struggled to provide alternatives.
The World Health Organization reported that no rehabilitation equipment entered Gaza between May 2024 and April 2026, while rehabilitation facilities continued to face severe operational constraints.
Specialised services have also been devastated. The Palestine Center for Special Education was destroyed, while its former director, Arij Abu Sultan, was killed, further reducing the support available to children and their families.
As institutions disappear, parents are increasingly forced to become caregivers, therapists and crisis responders without the equipment, medication or professional support their children need.
Reem Jarour, who heads autism programmes at Gaza’s Dolphins Association for Education and Community Development, said autistic children depend on predictable environments to maintain emotional and behavioural stability.
Repeated displacement, destroyed schools, damaged rehabilitation centres and constant exposure to violence have transformed everyday surroundings into potential sources of fear.
For children who once relied on familiar classrooms, therapists, bedrooms, playgrounds and daily routines, those spaces have disappeared beneath the destruction.
The consequences extend beyond immediate psychological distress. Regression in communication, social interaction and behavioural skills can undermine years of rehabilitation and development.
For Palestinian families raising autistic children, survival now includes trying to preserve their children’s sense of safety in an environment where safety itself has been destroyed.
Parents are confronting the loss of homes, schools and treatment centres while attempting to protect their children from explosions, displacement, hunger, illness and medication shortages.
In Gaza, the destruction of civilian infrastructure has therefore created another, less visible crisis: children with disabilities are losing the support systems that allow them to learn, communicate and live with dignity.
For families like Ahmed’s and Muneer’s, the demand is not simply for an end to the violence. It is for access to specialised healthcare, rehabilitation, medication, safe housing and the opportunity for their children to rebuild the lives and abilities that Israel’s genocidal war has disrupted.
