Palestine DCIP warns of serious psychological damage to Gaza minors

Ramallah, May 25.- Children in the Gaza Strip on Saturday face worrying psychological damage, beyond the high number of deaths and physical issues caused by the Israeli military campaign, an NGO warned.

Defense for Children International in Palestine (Palestine DCIP) said the aggression over Gaza, in addition to deaths and destruction, left psychological effects that cannot be erased without treatment.

Palestine DCIP also said in a statement that it documented a great number of minors with problems due to the neighboring nation’s attacks.

It cited the case of Siwar, a nine-year-old girl, who lost her father and younger brother in an Israeli bombing over their residence in northern Gaza City.

She lay alone on the ground in the hospital courtyard among the bodies of numerous people for hours, bleeding and unable to speak.

Siwar´s mother explained that she now suffers from nightmares and involuntary urination, and is afraid to go to the bathroom or sleep alone, She became shy and introverted, and does not trust herself.

According to a recent UN Women report, a child is injured or dies every 10 minutes in Gaza as a result of the Israeli offensive.

Last week, Adele Khodr, regional director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for the Middle East and North Africa, denounced that the recent attack on the southern city of Rafah and in other areas of the coastal enclave further worsened the suffering of hundreds of thousands of children.

“We cannot accept their fate as collateral victims of this conflict that they did not choose at all,” she warned. (Taken from Prensa Latina)