Gaza: Childhood Interrupted

In two weeks, school holidays in Gaza are coming to an end. But four-year-old Haneen, will not be returning to school anytime soon. She is in the Khan Younis hospital for treatment for shrapnel wounds. The strike which injured her also killed all her family members except two cousins, both badly wounded as well.

Photos and Text: Niha Masih

The Kafarna family, from the Khan Younis area, taking refuge in a UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) school turned shelter. According to the UN, 2.5 lakh people are packed into 90 such school-cum-shelters. Its unlikely they will be emptied out by the time school term begins.

Photos and Text: Niha Masih

Even the UN shelters are not safe. Ahmed was killed when Israel shelled a shelter in Jabaliya, in north Gaza. The UN claimed they had shared the co-ordinates of this particular school with Israel 17 times.

Photos and Text: Niha Masih

6-year-old Mohammed with his mother Namia Abu Aoun at the UN shelter in Gaza City. Mohammed was born 6 years ago in this exact same room during the 2008 Gaza war. He was born without the ability to hear or speak, which Namia says is because of the trauma of war.

Photos and Text: Niha Masih

The aftermath of an Israeli air strike on the Islamic university, one of the two main universities in the Gaza Strip. Nearly 20,000 students attend this university, their education now in jeopardy.

Photos and Text: Niha Masih

The ceasefire has seen families trying to return home, like 11-year-old Nasra who lives in Shejaiya. But she found she had no home left to return to. The UN estimates that more than 3.7 lakh children face the psychological trauma of war, scarring the upcoming generation in Gaza.

Photos and Text: Niha Masih