Gaza Ministry Records 54,468 Orphaned Children Since 2023

Three siblings in Gaza pack their belongings every two days to move from one aunt's tent to another. Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, have followed this routine since becoming orphans shortly after last year's ceasefire began. The Abu Asser children had already lost their father during Israel's 2014 offensive. When their home in Gaza City was destroyed during the war that started in 2023, they sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a temporary tent in Deir al-Balah.

An Israeli bomb struck that tent on the nineteenth day after the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. The explosion killed Islam in front of her children. Jebril was sitting in his mother's lap when the blast occurred and sustained injuries. Their aunt, Warda al-Muzeini, said the children now lack a stable home. They spend most of their time with their paternal grandmother but rotate between their maternal aunts, staying two nights with each.

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Gaza stated that the siblings are part of a larger group of 54,468 children who have lost one or both parents since October 2023. The ministry's registration system shows at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory. This total includes those bereaved in earlier Israeli military attacks. The data also indicates that approximately 3,000 children have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver.

Al-Muzeini lost her husband in an Israeli air strike and now raises their four children alone. She has no job or reliable income. She said she struggles to provide even one meal a day. Another aunt who hosts the Abu Asser children is also a widow. The sisters share the financial load. One buys pajamas, another buys slippers, and another provides pocket money for a couple of days.

Ministry spokesperson Aziza al-Kahlout said the official numbers do not capture the daily suffering involved. A child who has lost both parents loses care and safety. These children are also deprived of education and childhood. They are often forced to carry responsibilities far beyond their years. Women who become the only breadwinners for their families face the double burden of providing for and raising children amid devastation.

Kahlout warned of deeply alarming signs 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 said orphaned children are especially exposed as economic and humanitarian conditions worsen. Adequate shelter remains scarce in the region.

Some children lost their entire immediate family. Wafaa al-Attar was 10 years old when she left home on February 22, 2024. She went to her uncle's nearby house to charge her father's phone. Her uncle's home had solar panels. As she was about to go inside, a massive blast struck. Attar said she turned around and saw that their home was no longer there. The air strike hit 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. The victims were Rital, eight, Muhammed, five, Obada, three, and Yazan, who was nine months old. Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries and was taken to a hospital. She kept asking about her family until her uncle arrived. He told her they had died. She fell silent for two or three hours. She then wondered if all of them had died at once. She first stayed with her grandparents before moving in with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn. Attar, now 13, said she wished she had been in the house when it was bombed. She said she knows no one can replace her own family.