Gaza widows share care for 54,468 children without parents

Three siblings in Gaza City move from one aunt's tent to another every two days. Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, started this routine after their mother, Islam, was killed in October 2025. Their father had died during the 2014 offensive, leaving the children to survive on the support of extended family.

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development says the siblings are part of a count of 54,468 children who have lost one or both parents since the war began in October 2023. The ministry records at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory. These figures include those bereaved in earlier military attacks. Approximately 3,000 children currently have no registered guardian or caregiver.

Warda al-Muzeini, the children's aunt, says they have no stable home. They mostly stay with their paternal grandmother but rotate between maternal aunts for two nights each. Jebril was injured when the bomb hit the tent in Deir al-Balah. He was sitting in his mother's lap when she died. "He saw his mother die in front of him," Muzeini said.

Muzeini lost her husband in an air strike and now 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 the costs of care. One buys pyjamas, another buys slippers, and a third provides a small amount of pocket money for a few days.

Aziza al-Kahlout, a ministry spokesperson, stated that the official numbers do not show the daily impact on children. A child who loses both parents loses care, safety, and education. They are forced to take on responsibilities that exceed their age. Women who become the only breadwinners face the burden of providing food and shelter while raising children in damaged areas.

Kahlout warned of rising risks for child labor, school dropout, and early marriage. She cited poverty, displacement, and the loss of family income as drivers of these trends. Orphaned children are at high risk as economic conditions worsen and shelter remains scarce. The ministry notes that the current registration system tracks these families but cannot fully measure the strain on caregivers.

Wafaa al-Attar, now 13, lost her entire family in a single strike on 22 February 2024. She was 10 when she left her home in Deir al-Balah to charge her father's phone at her uncle's house. A blast destroyed the multi-storey building where her family was staying. The strike killed her father, Ahmed, her mother, Khouloud, and four siblings aged eight, five, three, and nine months. Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries. She stayed with her grandparents and later moved in with her uncle and his wife. "All of them at once?" she asked when told they had died.

Attar said she wished she had been in the house when it was bombed. She kept that thought for months. Her uncle's wife told her that her father would want her to stay strong. Attar said she knows no one can replace her own family.