54,468 Gaza children lose parents

Three siblings in Gaza move between aunts' tents every two days.

Mariam, Aya, and Jebril have followed this rotation since their mother died in a bomb strike.

The Abu Asser children lost their father during the 2014 conflict.

Their home in Gaza City was destroyed during the war that began in October 2023.

They sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a tent in Deir al-Balah.

On the nineteenth day after the 10 October 2025 ceasefire took effect, an Israeli bomb killed her.

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development reports that 54,468 children have lost one or both parents since October 2023.

The ministry counts at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory.

This total includes those bereaved in earlier Israeli military attacks.

Ministry records show approximately 3,000 children have no registered guardian or caregiver.

Aunt Warda al-Muzeini states the children have no stable home.

They mostly stay with their paternal grandmother but rotate between maternal aunts for two nights each time. Jebril was in his mother's lap when the blast hit and was injured. "He saw his mother die in front of him," Muzeini said. Muzeini lost her husband in an air strike and raises four children alone. She has no job or reliable income and struggles to provide one meal a day. Another aunt is also a widow. The sisters split costs, with one buying pyjamas and another providing pocket money. Ministry spokesperson Aziza al-Kahlout says the numbers miss the daily suffering. She notes that children lose care, safety, and education. Women who become sole breadwinners face a double burden of providing and raising children. Kahlout warns of growing risks of child labor, school dropout, and early marriage. She cites poverty, displacement, and the loss of family breadwinners as drivers. Orphaned children are exposed as economic conditions worsen and shelter remains scarce. Wafaa al-Attar, now 13, lost her entire family in a single strike. She was 10 when she left home on 22 February 2024 to charge her father's phone at her uncle's house. A massive blast struck as she was about to enter. "I turned around, and our home was no longer there," she said. The air strike hit the multi-storey building in Deir al-Balah. It killed her father, Ahmed, her mother, Khouloud, and four siblings. The victims were Rital, eight; Muhammed, five; Obada, three; and Yazan, nine months old. Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries and was hospitalized. She asked about her family until her uncle told her they died. She fell silent for two or three hours before asking, "All of them at once?" She stayed with her grandparents first, then moved in with her uncle and his wife. Her uncle's wife is a newborn mother. "For months, I wished I had been with them in the house when it was bombed," Attar said. Her uncle's wife reminded her that her father would want her to stay strong. Attar said, "But of course, I know that no one could ever replace my own family."