Gaza Ministry: 54,468 Orphans Strain Widowed Families

Three siblings in Gaza now move between their aunts’ tents every 48 hours, a routine they have followed since their mother died days into last year’s ceasefire. Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, are among 54,468 children who have lost one or both parents since the war began in October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Gaza.

The Abu Asser family had already lost their father during Israel’s 2014 offensive. When their home in Gaza City was destroyed in the current conflict, the children sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a tent in Deir al-Balah. On the nineteenth day after the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025, an Israeli bomb struck the tent, killing Islam in front of her children. Jebril was injured in the blast.

The ministry’s data indicates that at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children exist across the territory, a figure that includes those bereaved in earlier military attacks. Within that total, the registration system identifies approximately 3,000 children who have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver.

Warda al-Muzeini, the children’s aunt, stated that the siblings have no stable home. They primarily stay with their paternal grandmother but rotate through their maternal aunts, spending two nights with each. Muzeini, who lost her husband in an air strike, raises four children of her own without a job or reliable income. She said she struggles to provide one meal a day. The sisters divide costs, with one buying pajamas, another slippers, and another providing pocket money.

Aziza al-Kahlout, a spokesperson for the ministry, said the figures do not capture the daily hardship faced by these families. She noted that children who lose both parents lose care, safety, and education, often assuming adult responsibilities. Women who become sole breadwinners face the dual burden of providing income and raising children amid destruction.

Kahlout warned of growing risks of child labor, school dropout, and early marriage driven by poverty and displacement. She said orphaned children are particularly exposed as economic conditions worsen and adequate shelter remains scarce.

Wafaa al-Attar, now 13, lost her entire immediate family in a single strike. On February 22, 2024, she was 10 when she left her home in Deir al-Balah to charge her father’s phone at her uncle’s nearby house. A blast struck the multi-storey building where her family was, killing her father Ahmed, her mother Khouloud, and her four siblings: Rital, 8, Muhammed, 5, Obada, 3, and Yazan, 9 months.

Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries and was hospitalized. She said she wished she had been killed with her family. She now lives with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn child. Her uncle’s wife told Attar that her father would want her to stay strong, though Attar said she knows no one can replace her own family.