Peer-reviewed article
Childhood under siege: battling malnutrition, disease, and despair during genocide in Gaza.
Bilal Hamamra, Fayez Mahamid, Asala Mayaleh ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study documents the health crisis facing children in Gaza since October 2023, examining malnutrition, disease, and psychological distress resulting from restricted access to food and services. Researchers conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with displaced Gazans in Rafah camps and analyzed the data using thematic content analysis. The findings show children experiencing stunted growth, cognitive deficits, infectious disease outbreaks in unsanitary shelters, unsafe environments, and limited healthcare access. The authors conclude these conditions result from deliberate policies and call for immediate humanitarian intervention and policy reform.
Key points
- Children show widespread malnutrition leading to stunted growth and cognitive deficits
- Infectious disease outbreaks occurring in overcrowded, unsanitary shelters with contaminated water
- Healthcare services deliberately collapsed, creating barriers to treatment
- Unsafe environments marked by bombed infrastructure compound health risks
- The crisis creates a cycle of deprivation affecting child survival and development
Limitations
The study uses qualitative methods with 30 interviews only, which provides in-depth contextual understanding but cannot quantify prevalence rates or establish causal relationships definitively. The analysis cannot distinguish between impacts of conflict, blockade, and policy separately, nor does it include comparison data from pre-crisis periods or other populations.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Since 7 October 2023, Gazan children have been enduring a catastrophic humanitarian crisis marked by severe malnutrition, rampant disease, and overwhelming psychological distress as a result of the Israeli deliberate policies that restrict access to food and essential services, compounded by the systematic destruction of agricultural, healthcare, and water infrastructure under a crippling blockade. AIMS: This study aims to document and analyze the multifaceted impacts of conflict-induced deprivation on the health and development of these vulnerable children, highlighting how state policies exacerbate food insecurity and hinder effective healthcare delivery. METHODS: Employing a qualitative approach, thirty semi-structured interviews were conducted with displaced Gazans in Rafah camps; the data, gathered in Arabic and transcribed for analysis, were examined using thematic content analysis to identify recurring themes related to malnutrition, disease outbreaks, unsafe living conditions, weakened immune systems, and limited healthcare access. RESULTS: The analysis revealed that children are suffering from widespread malnutrition leading to stunted growth and cognitive deficits, compounded by outbreaks of infectious diseases in overcrowded, unsanitary shelters, and further endangered by unsafe environments marked by bombed infrastructure and contaminated water; these factors, along with a deliberate collapse of healthcare services, create a cycle of deprivation and despair. CONCLUSION: The findings confirm that the crisis in Gaza is a deliberate outcome of the Israeli policies designed to undermine civilian survival, necessitating immediate humanitarian intervention, strict adherence to international humanitarian law, and comprehensive policy reforms to restore access to essential resources, halt the intergenerational transmission of trauma, and rebuild a resilient future for Gazan children.