GAZA, (PIC)
Despite the passage of about eight months since the declaration of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the calm that the residents were waiting for has not turned into a real sense of safety and psychological comfort.
Between the continuous Israeli raids, the ongoing assassinations, and the restrictions on the flow of aid and basic commodities, more than two million Palestinians live in a state of permanent anxiety and anticipation, while the mental health crisis is worsening in an unprecedented way.
Mental health specialists confirm that the effects of war do not end as soon as the large-scale bombardment stops, but rather another, more complex phase begins, represented in dealing with accumulated psychological trauma, chronic fear, and uncertainty about the future.
Continuous fear and an unknown future
In various areas of the Strip, residents describe their lives as being “suspended between war and peace,” as the fear and tension resulting from the continuous Israeli violations make many live in a state of permanent psychological alert, and prevent the return of a sense of stability.
Alaa Abdel Rahman, a father of five children from Nuseirat refugee camp, says that his life has not returned to what it was before the war, despite the passage of months since the ceasefire agreement took effect.
He says in a special interview with the PIC correspondent, “The continuous strong and violent bombardment has stopped, and this is true, but we are still living the same fear, whenever we hear the sound of a plane or an explosion nearby, we feel that the war has returned anew, I cannot sleep normally, and I wake up several times during the night to make sure that my children are fine.”
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the number of martyrs since the start of the ceasefire on 10 October 2025, has risen to 936 martyrs, in addition to 2,860 injuries, along with recording 781 cases of recovery of bodies.
As for Um Mehran, 35, a mother of three children who was displaced more than once during the war, she describes her daily life as a “continuous psychological war.”
She confirms in a special interview with the PIC correspondent, that she lives in a state of permanent fear and anxiety, and says, “I fear the interruption of food and the return of famine, and I fear the return of the bombardment, and I fear for the future of my children, even though I try to appear strong in front of them.”
She reveals that she cries sometimes for no clear reason, and has a feeling that many years have passed within a short period.
As for the young man Hamada Rabie, 22, he believes that the psychological crisis has become a part of his generation’s life, and confirms that he has come to suffer from tension and nervousness continuously, and thinks all the time about the future, for which he sees no clear features.
He said in an interview with the PIC correspondent, “When we sit with friends, we only talk about the war, losses, and worries, and it has become difficult to find someone who has not been psychologically affected by what happened.”
Frightening data
With the continued suffering of the population as a result of Israel’s insistence on continuing the war of genocide and violating its ceasefire agreement, psychological centers and clinics are witnessing an increasing influx of citizens seeking help.
Specialists describe this trend as a natural result of the accumulation of pressures and trauma over the years of war, as mental health problems have become clearer and less linked to social stigma compared to the past.
Field reports indicate the spread of symptoms such as night nightmares, involuntary urination, concentration difficulties, and excessive fear of sudden sounds, while the need for psychological support services for children has become greater than the capacity of current health institutions to respond.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA, revealed in its humanitarian report issued on 15 May 2026, that the demand for specialized case management services, psychosocial support, and protection interventions still exceeds the available capacities.
As for the World Health Organization, it described in its emergency health appeal for the occupied Palestinian territories for the year 2026, the psychological impact of the war on Gaza as “profound”, indicating that about one million people in Gaza need mental health services and psychosocial support.
In the “Gaza We Want” report published in February 2026, UNICEF explained that approximately one million children were exposed to war experiences and severe trauma.
It showed that the children themselves repeatedly demanded the provision of psychological support services alongside physical health care.
The United Nations says that the lives of Palestinians in Gaza are still characterized by displacement, psychological trauma, uncertainty, and deprivation, which are factors that directly affect mental health and increase rates of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorders.
An ambiguous future worsens the crisis
Experts believe that the continuation of the state of political and security uncertainty represents one of the most prominent factors preventing psychological recovery, as the population does not know whether the ceasefire will hold, nor when the reconstruction process will begin in a real way, nor when basic services will return to their normal levels.
The United Nations and human rights organizations warn that the continuation of restrictions on aid and the recurrence of acts of violence threaten to deepen both the humanitarian and psychological crisis, and make recovery more difficult for a society exhausted by war, displacement, and massive human losses.
In Gaza, a ceasefire is not measured only by the number of days that pass without a comprehensive war, but by the ability of people to regain a sense of safety.
Until now, it seems that psychological peace is still far from reach, for between the fear of the return of escalation, the difficulty of daily life, and the continuation of accumulated trauma, the residents of the Strip live a fragile psychological reality that needs long-term support and serious plans for societal recovery, before the effects of the psychological war turn into an extended wound for generations to come.