54,468 children in Gaza have lost parents since 2023

Every two days, three children in Gaza pack their belongings and move from one aunt's tent to another.

Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, have maintained this routine since they were orphaned shortly after a ceasefire began in October 2025. The Abu Asser siblings lost their father during a 2014 Israeli offensive. When the war that started in 2023 destroyed their home in Gaza City, they sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a makeshift tent in Deir al-Balah. On the nineteenth day after the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025, an Israeli bomb struck the tent, killing Islam in front of the children.

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development reported that the siblings are among 54,468 children who have lost one or both parents since October 2023. The ministry counts at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory, a figure that includes those bereaved in earlier attacks. Registry data shows approximately 3,000 children have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver.

Warda al-Muzeini, the children's aunt, stated that the trio has no stable home. They primarily stay with their paternal grandmother but spend two nights with each maternal aunt. Jebril was sitting in his mother's lap when the bomb hit and sustained injuries. "He saw his mother die in front of him," Muzeini said.

Muzeini lost her husband in an Israeli air strike and now raises four children alone without a job or reliable income. She reported struggling to provide one meal a day. Another aunt is also a widow. The sisters share the financial load, with one buying pyjamas, another slippers, and the third providing pocket money for a few days.

Aziza al-Kahlout, a ministry spokesperson, said the figures do not capture the daily suffering. She noted that a child who loses both parents loses care, safety, and education, often carrying responsibilities beyond their years. Women who become the sole breadwinners face the burden of providing and raising children amid devastation. Kahlout warned of "deeply alarming signs" of growing risks for child labor, school dropout, and early marriage driven by poverty and displacement.

Some children lost their entire families. Wafaa al-Attar, now 13, was 10 when she left her home on 22 February 2024 to charge her father's phone at her uncle's house. A blast struck as she was about to enter. "I turned around, and our home was no longer there," she said. The air strike killed her father, Ahmed, her mother, Khouloud, and four siblings: Rital, eight; Muhammed, five; Obada, three; and nine-month-old Yazan. Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries. She first stayed with grandparents, then with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn. "For months, I wished I had been with them in the house when it was bombed," she said. Her uncle's wife reminded her that her father would want her to stay strong. "But of course, I know that no one could ever replace my own family," Attar said.

The ministry continues to register orphaned children and track guardianship arrangements across the territory.