Gaza Ministry Counts 54,468 Parentless Children as Widows Absorb Care Gap

Three siblings in Gaza move between their aunts' tents every two days, a routine that began after they lost their mother in an airstrike. Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, have followed this schedule since the conflict began. Their father died during the 2014 offensive. When their home in Gaza City was destroyed in 2023, they sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a tent in Deir al-Balah. On the 19th day after the October 10, 2025, ceasefire, a bomb struck the tent and killed Islam in front of them.

The Palestinian Ministry of Social Development states that the siblings are part of a group of 54,468 children who lost one or both parents since October 2023. The ministry counts at least 64,000 widows and 71,000 orphaned children across the territory. This total includes those bereaved in earlier military attacks. Registration records also show approximately 3,000 children have no registered guardian or caregiver.

Warda al-Muzeini, the children's aunt, said they have no stable home. They mostly stay with their paternal grandmother but rotate between maternal aunts for two nights each. Jebril was injured when the bomb hit because he was sitting in his mother's lap. Muzeini lost her husband in an air strike and now raises four children alone without a job. She said she struggles to provide one meal a day. The widowed aunts share costs, with one buying pyjamas, another slippers, and another providing pocket money.

Ministry spokesperson Aziza al-Kahlout said the figures do not reflect the daily suffering. A child who loses both parents loses care, safety, and education. They are forced to carry adult responsibilities. Women who become the only breadwinners face the burden of providing for children while raising them in devastated areas. Kahlout warned of growing risks for child labor, school dropout, and early marriage driven by poverty and displacement.

Wafaa al-Attar lost her entire family in a single strike. She was 10 years old on February 22, 2024, when she went to a nearby uncle's house to charge her father's phone. A blast hit the multi-storey building in Deir al-Balah. The attack killed 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. She was hospitalized and asked about her family until her uncle told her they had died. She remained silent for two to three hours. She later moved in with her uncle and his wife. Attar said she wished she had been in the house when it was bombed, but her uncle's wife reminded her that her father wanted her to stay strong.