Gaza's 3,000 Unregistered Minors Face Care Gap Amid 54,468 Bereaved

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development in Gaza has recorded 54,468 children who have lost one or both parents since October 2023. Officials state that the territory now contains at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children, a total that includes families bereaved during earlier Israeli military campaigns.

The ministry's registration system identifies approximately 3,000 children who currently have no registered guardian, custodian, or caregiver. These figures reflect the cumulative impact of the war that began in 2023 and previous conflicts in the region.

The Abu Asser siblings, Mariam, Aya, and Jebril, exemplify the displacement described in the data. The three children, aged 16, 14, and 12, lost their father during the 2014 offensive. When their home in Gaza City was destroyed during the 2023 war, they sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a tent in Deir al-Balah. An Israeli bomb struck the tent on the 19th day after the ceasefire took effect on 10 October 2025, killing Islam in front of the children.

Aunt Warda al-Muzeini says the siblings now rotate between the homes of their maternal aunts and paternal grandmother. They spend two nights with each relative before moving again. Jebril, who was injured in the blast, witnessed his mother's death. Muzeini, who lost her own husband in an air strike, raises four children without a job. She and another widowed aunt share costs for basic items like pyjamas and slippers, often struggling to provide one meal per day.

Ministry spokesperson Aziza al-Kahlout stated that the statistics do not fully capture the daily hardship. She noted that children losing both parents lose care, safety, education, and childhood, often taking on adult responsibilities. Kahlout warned of rising risks of child labor, school dropout, and early marriage due to poverty and the loss of family breadwinners.

Wafaa al-Attar, 13, lost her father, mother, and four siblings in an air strike on 22 February 2024. The blast destroyed the multi-storey building in Deir al-Balah where her family lived. Attar, who was 10 at the time, had left home to charge a phone at her uncle's nearby house. She suffered minor shrapnel injuries and learned of her family's deaths when her uncle arrived. She now lives with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn child.

Attar described the period after the attack, noting that she wished she had been killed with her family. Her uncle's wife told her to stay strong for her father. Attar said she knows no one can replace her own family, but she continues to live with her extended relatives.