Children bear brunt of humanitarian crisis in Gaza

Maha Sersek is only 15 years old

Cramped inside her tent within the confines of Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital, Maha Sersek sits before a large washing basin. She continues to scrub the clothes, with a heap consistently growing beside her.

At just 15 years old, Maha has taken on the burden of washing clothes to provide her family with the essentials they need to survive the war’s devastation. 

Forcibly evacuated from the Shajaiya neighbourhood, Maha now stays in Deir Al-Balah in the middle of the Gaza Strip. This has become a familiar experience for her now, as she has now been displaced innumerable times.

Maha, with no reliable source of income, has taken on the big responsibility of putting food on the table. “I used to work in a bakery from early morning until dawn to sell bread,” says Maha.

“But the long hours became unbearable, especially during the month of fasting, after which I could not continue working there.” 

Maha helps those around her, offering to wash clothes and household items and even filling water for them. “Every morning, from 6am to 10am, I search for water,” she says. “Sometimes I come back empty-handed, and have to depend on the hospital for water.”

She fails to hold back her tears as memories of her home flood back—the mornings spent getting ready for school and waking alongside her siblings. Now, she performs the same tasks, but for a heartbreaking reason—work, not education.

“This hardship wasn’t something I expected,” she confides. “I yearn to return to school, to learn and chase my dreams, just like any child my age should. But war has changed everything so drastically.”

The Gaza Strip’s humanitarian crisis has spiralled to unprecedented levels, with children bearing the brunt of the hardships. As the war continues, child labour has skyrocketed as families grapple with increasing rates of unemployment and poverty.

Child labour in Gaza has surged in tandem with the worsening humanitarian crisis. Recent statistics paint a grim picture, revealing that many children like Maha are forced into labour by the harsh economic realities.

The war’s brutality has also devastated Gaza’s education system, leaving nearly 90 percent of school buildings damaged or destroyed.

In an interview, Unrwa aid agency director of communications Juliette Touma spoke about the 600,000 children in Gaza who’ve been unable to go to school since the war began. She explained that the longer their education is disrupted, the harder it will be for them to catch up. 

Up to 21,000 children are estimated to be missing in the chaos of the war in Gaza. Many are trapped beneath rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or lost from their families, according to Save The Children.

Jeremy Stoner, the charity’s regional director for the Middle East, stated, “Families are tortured by the uncertainty of the whereabouts of their loved ones.

“No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try and find their child’s body. No child should be alone, unprotected in a war zone. No child should be detained or held hostage.”

The growth of child labour in Gaza highlights the urgent need for international intervention to provide children like Maha Sersek with safe spaces, education, and other necessities of life.

Thanks to my colleague Salma for assisting with this interview with Maha