Gaza ministry records over 54,000 children who lost parents in conflict

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Gaza has recorded 54,468 children who have lost one or both parents since the war began in October 2023. The ministry states that the total number of orphaned children across the territory is at least 71,000. This count includes individuals who lost parents in earlier Israeli military attacks on Gaza.

The agency also identifies approximately 3,000 children who have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver. Ministerial data indicates that at least 64,000 women in Gaza are currently widows. These figures reflect the cumulative impact of the conflict on family structures within the territory.

Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, illustrate the daily reality for many of these families. The siblings lost their father during Israel's 2014 offensive on Gaza. When their home in Gaza City was destroyed during the 2023 war, they moved into a makeshift tent in Deir al-Balah with their mother, Islam. An Israeli bomb struck the tent on the nineteenth day after the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025, killing their mother in front of them.

Warda al-Muzeini, the children's aunt, describes a rotating arrangement where the siblings stay with their paternal grandmother and alternate between maternal aunts for two nights at a time. Jebril was injured when the bomb hit while he sat in his mother's lap. Al-Muzeini, who lost her husband in an air strike, now raises four children without a job or reliable income. She and her widowed sister share the cost of basic necessities, with one aunt buying pyjamas and another providing slippers or pocket money.

Aziza al-Kahlout, a spokesperson for the ministry, stated that the statistics do not fully capture the daily suffering of these families. She noted that children who lose both parents lose care, safety, and education. Kahlout warned of alarming signs of increasing child labour, school dropout, and early marriage in Gaza. She attributed these trends to poverty, displacement, and the loss of family breadwinners.

Wafaa al-Attar, 13, lost her entire immediate family in a single air strike on 22 February 2024. She was 10 years old when she left her home in Deir al-Balah to charge a phone at her uncle's house. The blast destroyed the multi-storey building where her father, Ahmed, mother, Khouloud, and four siblings were staying. The strike killed all six family members. Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries and was taken to hospital.

Attar described the silence that followed her uncle's confirmation of their deaths. She said she wished she had been in the building when it was bombed. Her uncle's wife later reminded her that her father would want her to stay strong. Attar now lives with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn child. She stated that no one could ever replace her own family.