Israel's military offensive in Gaza has had a devastating impact on the mental health of children in the Palestinian enclave, with overwhelming levels of anxiety, sleep disorders, psychological distress, among others. This was reported by the organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which conducted group psychosocial sessions in which the children drew many of their experiences. The international humanitarian organization stated in a communiqué that the three years of Israel's brutal military offensive have had a devastating impact on the mental health of Gaza's youngest generation. Many have lost relatives, homes, schools, and friends, while repeated displacement and catastrophic living conditions have stripped away the spaces where children should be able to feel like children and play without fear.
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Dina, 11 years old, drew her neighborhood before and after the genocide; she remembers the mosque, the buildings, and the trees. She said she had hoped to return from the south and find Gaza as it once was, but that was not the case. This drawing was made during a mental health session organized by MSF at the Al-Zaytoon clinic, in Gaza City, in August 2026. No specific theme was set; the therapist simply asked each child to draw whatever came to mind, whatever they carried with them, and whatever they wanted to show. Photo: MSF Nour Alsaqqa
"Across Gaza, we are seeing overwhelming levels of pain, anxiety, sleep disorders, and psychological distress in both adults and children," said Franz Luef, MSF coordinator for Palestine. "These symptoms are exacerbated by a crisis that has evolved into a less visible phase, characterized by Israel's systematic dismantling of the conditions necessary for Palestinians' survival," he added.
Rahaf, 11 years old, made two drawings: one from before the war and one from after. In the "before" one, she depicted her neighborhood with clean streets, children playing, and a school full of classes and learning. In the "after" one, she drew tents, homes under attack, an ambulance, a water tanker truck, children filling water jugs, and an adult with an amputated leg walking on crutches. This drawing was made during a mental health session organized by MSF at the Al-Zaytoon clinic, in Gaza City, in August 2026. No specific theme was set; the therapist simply asked each child to draw whatever came to mind, whatever they carried with them, and whatever they wanted to show. Photo: MSF Nour Alsaqqa
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of people in Gaza requiring urgent mental health and psychosocial support has more than doubled since before the conflict, rising from around 485,000 to more than one million. In this regard, MSF stated that mental health care has become a fundamental part of its work, and that its teams offer individual consultations, psychosocial and psychoeducational group activities for adults, as well as recreational activities for children and adolescents, who are especially vulnerable.
Motassem, 14 years old, was detained by the Israeli Army while evacuating with his father through a checkpoint. In his drawing, he depicts clouds dropping rain and bombs; he also comments that one of the hardest aspects of his daily life since then has been having to go fetch water from the tanker trucks. In another part of the drawing, he portrayed a scene at the back of the house he lost, showing an extensive plot filled with olive trees and fruit trees. Photo: MSF Nour Alsaqqa
"Children who grew up during the war, who today are three or four years old, have lost their understanding of many fundamental concepts," explained Mahmoud Al-Balbisi, MSF mental health counselor. "Many do not know what 'home' means. The tent has become their home, because they have never experienced living in a house."
"The places where they grew up have been destroyed. The basic things that should define childhood —feeling safe, playing with friends, going to school, and spending time with family— have been taken from them, replaced by memories of violence, the constant threat of new attacks, and the sight of destruction. Fetching water, queuing for food, or helping their families survive are now part of their daily responsibilities. For the youngest children, the consequences are different: some have never known anything but displacement and the sound of bombings," MSF stated in its communiqué.
Rahaf, 11 years old, made two drawings: one from before the war and one from after. In the "before" one, she depicted her neighborhood with clean streets, children playing, and a school full of classes and learning. In the "after" one, she drew tents, homes under attack, an ambulance, a water tanker truck, children filling water jugs, and an adult with an amputated leg walking on crutches. Photo: MSF Nour Alsaqqa
MSF interviewed Dina, a nine-year-old girl, who remembers having to leave her home with her family, pushing her injured father in a wheelchair after a truck ran over his foot while he was collecting aid. Dina longs for something simple: "That we go back to how things were before. With my grandparents."
Rahaf, an 11-year-old girl, told MSF: "Sometimes I stand at the window and watch the tanks firing. I tell my mom: 'Come inside, because the tanks are firing and launching shells.' I'm afraid for my family, so I tell her to come inside. My cousin died. I can't forget her. I used to play with her all the time."
Lama, 12 years old, drew the moment when her brothers and cousins were playing soccer in front of her house, when an Israeli drone opened fire on them; the attack killed her cousins and injured her brother. In addition, a bomb hit her home and destroyed it. She says she cannot forget that moment. Photo: MSF Nour Alsaqqa
MSF stated that despite their resilience, the effects of prolonged violence are visible in the children's daily behavior. Counselors report an increase in anxiety, fear, screaming, aggressive behavior, nail-biting, and urinary incontinence among children. At MSF's Zeitoun clinic in Gaza City, counselors provide children with psychosocial support through music, games, stories, and drawing, offering them a space to express themselves. In follow-up sessions, counselors help children reconnect with who they were before the war and understand their emotions.
"We try to remind children of their humanity and that they are children," said Al-Balbisi. Activities such as 'My body is my kingdom' help them recognize their right to safety and bodily protection in an environment where children are increasingly exposed to danger.
Alma, 11 years old, hates displacement the most. She says that on numerous occasions she had to flee with her family under fire. She misses her home and hates living in a tent, exposed to extreme heat, winter rains, and floods. She says that before, the sun was cheerful, but now it is sad. Photo: MSF Nour Alsaqqa
"After three years of violence, inhumane living conditions, and loss, children are not only carrying memories of the war; their experiences have transformed their understanding of safety and of childhood itself," said Luef. "Children in Gaza are still not safe. Bombings can happen at any moment and they live in constant fear, with no possibility of recovering or escaping what they have already suffered. Mental health needs in Gaza are enormous, but the services and spaces available for children to recover remain very limited after the systematic destruction of the health system by Israeli forces," he added.
Between late 2023 and September 2026, MSF teams provided more than 132,000 individual mental health consultations and supported more than 246,000 people through group activities.