Rights Group: Gaza Children on Brink of Mental Health Crisis

TEHRAN (Defapress)- "A whole generation of children in Gaza is balancing on a knife edge where one more shock could have devastating life-long consequences," Marcia Brophy, a senior health adviser at Save the Children, said in a statement, Al-Jazeera reported.

Save the Children, which surveyed 150 young adolescents, with a median age of 14, and 150 caregivers living in the coastal enclave, found that 95 percent of children interviewed displayed symptoms such as feelings of depression, hyperactivity, a preference for being alone, and aggression.

Many children grew up witnessing three Israeli offensives - 2008 to 2009, 2012 and 2014 - that devastated the strip. Furthermore, the 11-year Egyptian-Israeli blockade has severely curtailed the quality of life in Gaza, where youth unemployment now is at 60 percent and poverty levels increased from 30 to 50 percent.

At least 68 percent of children say they have difficulties sleeping, and 78 percent consider the single biggest source of fear for them was the sound of warplanes.

Yet the research also shows that these children revealed strands of resilience, with 80 percent saying they could openly talk about their problems to their families and friends, and 90 percent saying they felt supported by their parents.

Brophy added that while most of the children tied their security to the presence of their families, the breakdown of that family security is "one of the key triggers for mental health issues among children in conflict".

Jennifer Moorehead, Save the Children's Country Director for the occupied Palestinian territory, told Al-Jazeera that in light of the meagre resources that afflict the Gaza Strip, the world has a responsibility to relieve the suffering of the children there.

"The international community have to get themselves involved [and] invest their resources and their time to address the root cause of this, which is the blockade," Moorehead said, adding that this reality is preventing any kind of developments from taking place, leaving children "trapped without the support services they need".

"The international community needs to step up its assistance and introduce more mental health and psycho-social support into schools, extracurricular activities and homes," she stressed, stating that "only by doing this immediate step, as well as focusing on ending the blockade and finding a durable and just solution, will children have a more hopeful future".

On Friday the United States vetoed a Kuwait-drafted United Nations Security Council resolution calling for the protection of Palestinian civilians.

At least 120 Palestinians, including 14 children, have been killed and more than 13,000 wounded by Israeli forces during weeks-long peaceful protests in the Gaza Strip near the fence with Israel. Save the Children's research took place prior to the protests.

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