Gaza ministry records 54,468 parentless children as widows absorb care gaps

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Gaza reports that 54,468 children have lost one or both parents since October 2023. This figure sits within a wider population of at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory. The ministry’s registration system also identifies approximately 3,000 children who currently have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver.

In Deir al-Balah, three siblings named Mariam, Aya, and Jebril have followed a strict routine for the past year. They pack their belongings every two days to move between the tents of their maternal aunts. The Abu Asser children previously lost their father during the 2014 Israeli offensive on Gaza. When their home in Gaza City was destroyed during the war that began in 2023, they sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a makeshift tent in central Gaza.

Islam died on the 19th day after the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025. An Israeli bomb struck the tent while the children were inside. Jebril, then 12, was sitting in his mother’s lap when the blast hit. His aunt, Warda al-Muzeini, stated that he watched her die. The children now rotate between two aunts, spending two nights with each. They also stay with their paternal grandmother when possible.

Al-Muzeini, who lost her own husband in an Israeli air strike, raises four children alone without a job or reliable income. She says she struggles to provide even one meal a day. Her sister, another widow, helps share the financial burden. One aunt buys pyjamas, another provides slippers, and a third gives the children enough pocket money for a couple of days. The sisters manage the logistics of the children’s survival without a stable home base.

Aziza al-Kahlout, the ministry spokesperson, said the official counts do not capture the daily suffering involved. She noted that a child who loses both parents loses care, safety, and education. Kahlout described how these children are forced to carry responsibilities far beyond their years. Women who become the sole breadwinners face the double burden of providing for their families while raising children in a devastated environment.

Kahlout warned of growing risks for child labor, school dropout, and early marriage in Gaza. She attributed these trends to poverty, displacement, and the loss of family breadwinners. Orphaned children are especially exposed as economic and humanitarian conditions worsen and adequate shelter remains scarce. The ministry links these social pressures directly to the sudden absence of parental support.

Wafaa al-Attar, now 13, lost her entire family in a single air strike on 22 February 2024. She was 10 years old when she left her home in Deir al-Balah to charge her father’s phone at her uncle’s nearby house. The house had solar panels, which her family lacked. A massive blast struck the multi-storey building where her family was staying as she was about to enter.

The strike killed her father, Ahmed; her mother, Khouloud; and her four siblings: Rital, eight, Muhammed, five, Obada, three, and nine-month-old Yazan. Al-Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries and was taken to a hospital. She kept asking about her family until her uncle arrived and told her they had died. She fell silent for two or three hours, then asked, "All of them at once?"

Al-Attar first stayed with her grandparents and later moved in with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn. She said she wished for months that she had been with her family in the house when it was bombed. Her uncle’s wife comforted her by reminding her that her father would want her to stay strong. Al-Attar acknowledged that no one could replace her own family.

The ministry continues to track the status of the 3,000 unregistered minors. These children remain without a designated adult in the official care system. The 71,000 total orphans include those bereaved in earlier Israeli military attacks on Gaza, not just those from the 2023 conflict. The 64,000 widows are now the primary caregivers for many of these households.