Gaza ministry counts 54,468 children without parents

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Gaza reports that 54,468 children have lost one or both parents since the war began in October 2023. These figures include those bereaved in earlier Israeli military attacks. The ministry also identifies at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory. Approximately 3,000 children have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver.

The Abu Asser siblings, Mariam (16), Aya (14), and Jebril (12), exemplify the current living conditions for many orphans. They lost their father during the 2014 offensive on Gaza. After their home in Gaza City was destroyed during the 2023 war, they sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a makeshift tent in Deir al-Balah. On the 19th day after the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, an Israeli bomb struck the tent, killing Islam in front of the children. Jebril was injured in the blast while sitting in his mother's lap.

Warda al-Muzeini, the children's aunt, stated that the siblings have no stable home. They primarily stay with their paternal grandmother but rotate between maternal aunts, spending two nights with each. Muzeini lost her husband in an Israeli air strike and now raises their four children alone without a job or reliable income. She said she struggles to provide even one meal a day. Another aunt, also a widow, helps share the burden. The sisters coordinate basic needs, with one buying pyjamas, another buying slippers, and a third providing pocket money for a few days.

Aziza al-Kahlout, a ministry spokesperson, stated that the official numbers do not capture the daily suffering involved. She explained that a child who has lost both parents loses care and safety, is deprived of education and childhood, and is forced to carry responsibilities beyond their years. Women who become the sole breadwinners for their families face the dual burden of providing for children and raising them amid devastation.

Kahlout warned of growing risks of child labor, school dropout, and early marriage in Gaza. She attributed these trends to poverty, displacement, and the loss of family breadwinners. She noted that orphaned children are especially exposed as economic and humanitarian conditions worsen and adequate shelter remains scarce.

Wafaa al-Attar, 13, lost her entire immediate family in a single air strike. On February 22, 2024, she was 10 years old and left home to charge her father's phone at her uncle's nearby house, which had solar panels. A massive blast struck the multi-storey building in Deir al-Balah where her family was located. The strike killed her father, Ahmed, her mother, Khouloud, and her four siblings: Rital (8), Muhammed (5), Obada (3), and Yazan (9 months). Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries and was taken to hospital.

Attar said she kept asking about her family until her uncle arrived and told her they had died. She fell silent for two to three hours before asking if all of them had died at once. She first stayed with her grandparents and later moved in with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn. Attar said she wished for months that she had been in the house when it was bombed. Her uncle's wife comforted her by saying her father would want her to stay strong. Attar added that she knows no one could ever replace her own family.