Gaza Social Ministry: 54,468 Children Left Without Parents Since 2023

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Gaza reports that 54,468 children have lost at least one parent since the conflict began in October 2023. This figure is part of a larger crisis involving 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory, a count that includes those bereaved in earlier Israeli military operations.

The ministry’s orphan registration system identifies approximately 3,000 children who currently have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver. For families without formal support, care often falls to extended relatives. In the case of the Abu Asser family, three siblings now rotate between their maternal aunts every two days.

Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, lost their mother, Islam, on the 19th day after the ceasefire took effect on October 10, 2025. Their Gaza City home was destroyed during the 2023 war, forcing them to live in a makeshift tent in Deir al-Balah. An Israeli bomb struck the tent, killing their mother in front of the children. Jebril, who was sitting in his mother's lap at the time, sustained injuries.

Their aunt, Warda al-Muzeini, stated that the children have no stable home. They primarily stay with their paternal grandmother but spend two nights with each maternal aunt. Muzeini, a widow who lost her husband in an air strike, raises four children of her own without a job or reliable income. She and her sisters share the financial burden, with one buying pajamas, another buying slippers, and a third providing pocket money.

Aziza al-Kahlout, the ministry's spokesperson, noted that the statistics do not fully reflect the daily hardship faced by these families. She explained that losing a parent means losing safety, care, and childhood, forcing children to take on adult responsibilities. Al-Kahlout warned of growing risks of child labor, school dropout, and early marriage driven by poverty and displacement. She emphasized that orphaned children are particularly vulnerable as economic conditions worsen and shelter remains scarce.

Wafaa al-Attar, 13, lost her entire immediate family in a February 2024 air strike in Deir al-Balah. The blast killed her father, Ahmed, her mother, Khouloud, and her four younger siblings. Al-Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries and was hospitalized. She now lives with her uncle and his wife, recalling that she wondered if she would have been better off killed with her family.

The ministry’s data and family testimonies illustrate the scale of the caregiving vacuum in Gaza. The 3,000 unregistered children represent a specific subset of the 54,468 orphans who lack formal support structures, relying instead on informal networks of widowed relatives.