The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network
Mondoweiss / July 20, 2024
A new Gaza Community Mental Health Program report paints a stark picture of the severe mental health crisis unfolding in Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli genocide.
The Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) report covering October 2023-June 2024 paints a stark picture of the severe mental health crisis unfolding in Gaza due to the ongoing onslaught which has now lasted for over nine months. Over 2.2 million people in Gaza, besieged, bombarded, starved and displaced, are also grappling with the destructive psychological impact of this relentless war.
Since October 2023, when Israel initiated its latest and deadliest military assault, the people of Gaza have been subjected to a horrifying new reality: Israel has carried out unprecedented airstrike attacks targeting neighborhoods, cities, towns, affecting mostly innocent civilians, including women, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities. This onslaught has not only demolished physical infrastructures but has dismantled the very fabric of normal life, leaving behind a trail of psychological scars. In the desperate struggle for survival, these harms may seem to be secondary but they will be utterly consequential to any prospect of long-term recovery for Gaza’s citizens and their families and for the possibility to recreate community structures.
The psychological toll on a besieged population
While easily overlooked in the wake of death and destruction, the mental health impacts are profound and far-reaching. The report states, “People are more prone to have a variety of mental health conditions during and after disasters,” with many developing severe trauma-related disorders such as PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The continuous exposure to violence has led to a situation where virtually every child in Gaza now requires mental health support, a dire statistic that underscores the depth of the crisis: most of Gaza’s children are suffering from fear and anxiety, lack of sleep, and are displaying other signs of distress, such as constant shaking and bedwetting.
The account poignantly highlights a father’s profound sense of helplessness as he watches the psychological toll on his children: “All my children get really scared from the sounds of airplanes, bombings, and drones. One of my children started wetting the bed. I do not know what I should do?” This sentiment is echoed across many such families, encapsulating the deep agony and helplessness parents feel when they cannot shield their children from such terror. This parent and child have endured this relentless fear for over nine months, exemplifying the prolonged distress that disrupts any sense of security or normalcy.
Two out of three of GCMHP’s clinics and Gaza’s only psychiatric hospital were destroyed. The healthcare system in Gaza, already crippled by long-standing blockades and economic sanctions, has been pushed to the brink of collapse. The GCMHP report describes the healthcare scenario as “a collapsing healthcare system, continuous human rights violations, many massacres, and a scarcity of necessities like food, clean water, and medicine.” These conditions have made it nearly impossible to provide adequate psychological support, medical care, and medication to those in need.
Stories of desperation and resilience
The individual stories of suffering and resilience are particularly harrowing. A 42-year-old woman from Al-Mughraqa, displaced and living in a tent, shared her recurrent trauma: “I keep imagining corpses, and I keep remembering my son with his intestines coming out. Thank God, we were able to bury him.” Her symptoms include severe anxiety and depression, manifesting in despair and physical aggression towards her other children.
Another distressing narrative involves a healthcare worker from the GCMHP, who described in a message everyone in the international community needs to heed – the psychological impact of the war: “People are angry. They talk badly about everything. They ask why is this happening, why is no one caring about us, why have there been more than 270 days of this and there are no interventions?”
The situation for torture victims, as detailed in the GCMHP report, is particularly distressing. Individuals who have undergone severe physical and psychological torture are left with deep emotional scars. The report tells the story of a young man referred to as AM*, who endured “80 days of incomprehensible torture.” This torture included physical beatings, humiliation, and mental torment that continued even after his release, showing the prolonged impact of such trauma. He, like many others, suffers from PTSD and requires extensive psychological support to begin to heal. The report also describes the sexual violence committed against both men and women.
Perhaps the most affected segment of Gaza’s population is its children, who have not only lost the innocence of childhood but are faced with indelible psychological scars. Children aged sixteen will have already lived through at least five major bombardments of their homes and neighborhoods. The report from Save the Children in 2022, mentioned in the GCMHP report, discusses the “prolonged and frequent exposure of children to traumatic events” which has precipitated a mental health crisis among the young. These conditions have only worsened with the current war. The report additionally describes how children have had to take on the responsibilities of adults when their parents have died or are physically or psychologically incapacitated: “children are helping their families secure life’s necessities bringing food ..filling water into heavy containers and carrying it on their weak bodies, standing in line for long hours to register relief requests, or searching for wood, cartons, and everything possible to start fires for cooking.”
Call for international action
The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network, alongside our counterparts globally, urgently calls for:
- An Immediate Ceasefire: To halt the violence and provide a respite for the people of Gaza. “Giving people who lost their humanity their dignity back … Psychologists can’t do that alone. We need responses at state and international level. We need the rest of the world to stand with us.”Samah Jabr Guardian April 15, 2024)
- Unrestricted Humanitarian Access: To insist on the unimpeded flow of medical supplies, food, and water.
- Prioritization of Mental Health Support:Comprehensive psychosocial support must be integrated into all humanitarian aid efforts to address the widespread psychological distress. This needs to be led by those Mental Health Providers within Gaza, such as GCMHN, who are placed to respond to the needs of the population they live among. Capacity building within Gaza which, as the report mentions, has 3,000 unemployed psychologists rather than interventions from outside trauma specialists, has the best chance of restoring agency and dignity, both vital components of mental wellbeing.
- Support for Healthcare Providers: To ensure that those delivering care receive the necessary support to continue their work and manage their own mental health.
- Long-term Commitment to Rebuilding: International donors must commit to the long-term rebuilding of Gaza’s mental health infrastructure to ensure sustainability and resilience.
The dire situation in Gaza calls for immediate and sustained international attention. We must not allow this human tragedy to continue unnoticed and unaddressed. Our collective efforts can bring about change and provide hope to millions whose lives have been shattered by this war. Let us act swiftly and decisively for the sake of every child, every mother, and every father in Gaza who has suffered enough.
Let us stand together in solidarity with Gaza, bringing hope and healing to a wounded people.
The Palestine-Global Mental Health Network aims to promote the ideals of mental wellbeing, liberation, dignity, and social justice for peoples and societies throughout the planet and for Palestinians in particular
