War in Gaza Takes 'Devastating Toll' on Children's Mental Health as Drawings Reveal Violence and Fear

The Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders, team conducted psychosocial sessions among Palestinian children. One of the activities was to draw their childhood, which was clearly defined by 'fear and violence' after three years of war.

One child drew the long queue to fetch water while being shelled by the army. He also drew tanks and quadcopter drones. Another child drew tents, one of which had a Palestinian flag. For some children in Gaza, tents have become their only experience of home.

War Shaped the Childhood of Gazan Children

'Many don't know what "home" means. The tent has become their home, because they have never experienced living in a house,' said MSF mental health counsellor Mahmoud Al-Balbisi. 'They've lost their school, lost their mosque, lost their home. This has affected their childhood unjustly, and kept them from growing up normally.'

According to UNICEF's November 2025 humanitarian situation report, an estimated 1.1 million children in Gaza remained in need of child protection services and mental health and psychosocial support. More than 58,000 children had lost one or both parents.

Mahmoud noticed that the Palestinian children he encountered experienced fear and anxiety, which sometimes manifested through nail-biting, involuntary urination, aggressive behaviour and screaming.

'We try to remind the children of their humanity and that they are children. Unfortunately, the war hasn't ended and it's still continuing to this point,' Mahmoud said of the conflict that escalated on 7 October 2023.

Children's Experiences Through Drawings

MSF shared a video on social media showing some of the Palestinian children explaining their drawings. Nine-year-old Dina remembered the house 'shaking and shaking' during Israeli attacks, forcing her family to flee hurriedly. 'We didn't take anything with us... no belongings, nothing,' she said.

'I drew us fetching water and the army throwing shells at us... and the tanks and the quadcopter drone and the sky raining down on us and us sitting in the tents,' Motassem, 14, said in his native tongue.

'Sometimes, I stand at the window and I see the tanks firing,' Rahaf, 11, recalled. Whenever the tanks started firing, she would call her mum to go inside the house. She was scared for her mum and the rest of her family.

'Across Gaza, we are seeing overwhelming levels of grief, anxiety, sleep disorders, and psychological distress among both adults and children,' said Franz Luef, MSF head of mission for Palestine. 'These symptoms are being exacerbated by a crisis that has evolved into a less visible phase, characterised by Israel's systematic dismantling of conditions necessary for Palestinians' survival.'

State of Children in Gaza

UNICEF's November 2025 report highlighted the protection and mental health needs of children of Gaza, many of whom had lost one or both parents. The organisation's April 2026 child-focused assessment found that most children without parental care were living with relatives.

'However, extended families are often overstretched, both emotionally and financially,' the UNICEF assessment said. MSF considers mental health support for children and adults an important service for Palestinians displaced by war.

'There is still no safety for children in Gaza. Bombing can happen at any moment, and they continue to live in constant fear, with no opportunity to recover or escape from what they have already endured,' said Luef.