In brief
This piece offers a heartbreaking look into the life of 11-year-old Abdelrahman, whose experiences during the war in Gaza exemplify the severe trauma impacting children in conflict zones. The article outlines the psychological and physical repercussions of violence, drawing parallels to similar historical events, while advocating for immediate action to support mental health for these vulnerable youths.
Content warning: this article includes details about the impact of conflict on children in war zones and descriptions of injuries that some readers may find distressing.The first thing was that Abdelrahman's dad was killed. The family home was struck by an Israeli air strike. The boy's mum, Asma al-Nashash, 29, remembers that they brought him out in pieces.Then on 16 July 2024 an air strike hit the school in Nuseirat, central Gaza. Eleven-year-old Abdelrahman was seriously wounded. Doctors had to amputate his leg.His mental state began to deteriorate. He started pulling his hair and hitting himself hard, Asma recalls. He became like someone who has depression, seeing his friends playing and running around… and he's sitting alone.When I meet Abdelrahman at a hospital in Jordan in May 2025, he is withdrawn and wary. Dozens of children have been evacuated to the Kingdom from Gaza for medical treatment.We will return to Gaza, he tells me. We will die there.Abdelrahman is one of thousands of traumatised children I've met in my nearly four decades of reporting on conflicts. Certain faces are embedded in my memory. Some as though I had only met them yesterday. They reflect the depth of terror inflicted on children in our time.Figures underscore the sheer scale of the crisis. In 2024, 520 million children were living in conflict zones - one in every five children worldwide, according to the Peace Research Institute Oslo.Prof Theresa Betancourt, author of *Shadows into Light*, a book about former child soldiers, calls this the largest humanitarian disaster since World War Two. She warns trauma has an impact that lasts long into the future. [It can affect] the developing architecture of the brain in young children, with lifelong consequences for learning, behaviour, and both physical and mental health.As we explore these themes, we delve into the psychological effects of trauma in children, from anxiety disorders to PTSD, echoing the experiences of conflict survivors from various regions, including Syria and Rwanda.In interviews with experts and case studies, we reflect on the potential for recovery and the role of community support in healing. Amidst ongoing conflicts and crises, such attentiveness to the child’s psychological and emotional needs remains essential, emphasizing the importance of creating a stable environment for healing.Yet, as war persists in many regions, the struggle for these children continues, leaving us to grapple with the question of how to effectively address the wounds they carry into adulthood.
