Gaza registry lists 54,468 children without parents as widows manage care

54,468 children in the Gaza Strip have lost one or both parents since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development. The figure represents a specific subset of the territory’s displaced population, with the ministry noting that at least 71,000 children are now orphaned when accounting for those bereaved in earlier conflicts.

The data highlights a severe gap in custodial support. Approximately 3,000 registered children have no legal guardian, custodian, or caregiver on file. This administrative void leaves many minors to rely on informal networks of relatives who are often managing their own losses.

Mariam, 16, Aya, 14, and Jebril, 12, illustrate the fragility of these arrangements. The Abu Asser siblings lost their father in the 2014 offensive. After their home in Gaza City was destroyed in the war that began in 2023, they sheltered with their mother, Islam, in a tent in Deir al-Balah. On the nineteenth day of the ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, an Israeli bomb struck the tent, killing Islam.

Since that strike, the three siblings have followed a rotating schedule dictated by limited space and resources. They primarily stay with their paternal grandmother but move between maternal aunts, spending only two nights with each host. Their aunt, Warda al-Muzeini, described the lack of a stable home. "He saw his mother die in front of him," she said of Jebril, who was injured when the blast hit.

Muzeini, who lost her husband in an air strike, supports her four children without a job or reliable income. She reports struggling to provide a single meal a day. To cope, the widowed sisters share costs, with one buying pyjamas, another purchasing slippers, and another providing pocket money for a few days.

Aziza al-Kahlout, a ministry spokesperson, stated that the statistics understate the daily impact on families. She noted that children who lose both parents lose care, safety, and education, forcing them into responsibilities beyond their years. Women who become sole breadwinners face the dual burden of providing for families while raising them in a devastated environment.

Kahlout warned of growing risks of child labor, school dropout, and early marriage driven by poverty and displacement. She said orphaned children are particularly exposed as economic conditions worsen and adequate shelter remains scarce.

The loss of entire families has left some children without immediate kin. Wafaa al-Attar was 10 years old on February 22, 2024, when she left her home in Deir al-Balah to charge her father’s phone at her uncle’s house. An air strike hit the multi-storey building where her family was sheltering.

The blast killed her father, Ahmed, her mother, Khouloud, and four siblings: Rital, 8, Muhammed, 5, Obada, 3, and Yazan, 9 months. Attar suffered minor shrapnel injuries. She was taken to a hospital where she asked about her family until her uncle arrived. "All of them at once?" she asked after falling silent for hours.

Attar now lives with her uncle, his wife, and their newborn. She said she wished for months that she had been in the building when it was struck. Her uncle's wife told 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.