{"id":570840,"date":"2026-08-01T21:08:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T21:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/570840\/"},"modified":"2026-08-01T21:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T21:08:15","slug":"marathon-shines-light-on-gazas-orphaned-children-and-humanitarian-crisis-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/570840\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Marathon\u2019 shines light on Gaza\u2019s orphaned children and humanitarian crisis | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Khan Younis, Gaza Strip \u2013 As soon as the whistle blew, they all dashed off \u2013 and for a brief moment, nobody focused on the destruction surrounding them.<\/p>\n

Cheered on by relatives and friends, dozens of young boys and girls on Friday took part in a race aimed at highlighting the struggles of children who have lost one or both parents during Israel\u2019s genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n

Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss my father every day. He used to take care of everything for us,\u201d said 13-year-old Saif Hijazi, whose father, Rami Hijazi, was killed in an Israeli attack that hit the family home in northern Gaza in January 2024.<\/p>\n

Unlike the other children, Saif was not able to join in the running. Paralysed since January 2025, when Israeli artillery shelling hit near his displaced family\u2019s tent, he watched from his wheelchair as his younger siblings ran alongside other orphaned children.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince I was injured, I can\u2019t walk or move on my own anymore,\u201d he said, speaking slowly. \u201cI just want my life to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WardaWarda Hijazi with her children: Saif, centre, 13, who was severely injured and left paralysed during the war, her daughter Sarah, 9, and her son Ammar, 10 [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]\u2018Most affected\u2019<\/p>\n

Since October 2023, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 73,000 people, according to health officials in the territory. The United Nations children agency, or UNICEF, says more than 58,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both parents, while more than one million children require protection and psychosocial support due to the impact of the ongoing war.<\/p>\n

UNICEF has also previously estimated that about 17,000 children were unaccompanied or separated from their families, creating one of the largest child protection crises facing children in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Many of these children are living through repeated displacement, loss of income and limited access to essential services, including healthcare, education and protection.<\/p>\n

In an effort to raise awareness about the plight of orphaned children in Gaza and encourage support for families caring for them, International Networking for Humanitarian (INH) Indonesia organised Friday\u2019s running event in the southern city of Khan Younis. Dubbed a \u201cmarathon\u201d, the race brought together orphaned children from across Gaza, giving them a space to participate in a public activity and feel supported by their community.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrphans are always among the most affected groups in wars,\u201d said Mohammed Yassin, project coordinator at INH Indonesia. \u201cNo matter how much effort we make as an organisation, we cannot reach all of them,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough these activities, we try to remind the world and encourage people to support them and provide sponsorship that can help them in their daily lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yassin said families in Gaza that still have a provider \u201care already struggling\u201d to secure the minimum necessities because of the loss of purchasing power and the challenging daily conditions amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut when a family loses its main provider, the suffering becomes much greater in securing basic needs such as water and food,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\"ChildrenChildren take part in the event in Khan Younis [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]\u2018No choice\u2019<\/p>\n

It is a reality that Saif\u2019s mother, Warda Hijazi, knows all too well.<\/p>\n

Since her husband\u2019s killing, the 33-year-old has been facing a daily battle:\u00a0caring for Saif, who also suffers from kidney paralysis, at \u201cevery moment\u201d, while also trying to meet the needs of his younger siblings, nine-year-old Sarah and 10-year-old Ammar.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything has become my responsibility,\u201d said Warda. \u201cTheir food, their medicine, raising them, and trying to make up for the love and care they lost,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

After multiple displacements, Warda and her children are now temporarily sheltering in al-Zawaida, in central Gaza.<\/p>\n

She said losing her husband and then seeing Saif severely wounded pushed her into severe depression, before receiving psychological support through a community programme that helped her regain some ability to cope.<\/p>\n

But that support has not changed the reality of her daily life. She remains solely responsible for her children\u2019s needs under extremely difficult conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, I feel the burden is greater than what I can handle, but I have no choice except to continue,\u201d said Warda.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrphaned children are living through a very difficult reality,\u201d she added. \u201cThey do not only need food; they need someone to make them feel safe, to embrace their grief and give them the love they lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SamahSamah Abu Amra, a mother of five orphaned children, lost her husband during the first months of the war in an Israeli attack [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]\u2018An orphan needs to be seen and heard\u2019<\/p>\n

The story of Saif and his mother reflects a wider crisis affecting thousands of families across Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cLife is extremely difficult, and the situation is beyond what anyone can bear,\u201d said Samah Abu Amra, a 43-year-old mother of five children aged between seven and 19.<\/p>\n

The displaced widow from Rafah became the sole caregiver of her children after her husband was killed in an Israeli attack while walking on the street in Khan Younis during the first year of the war.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot provide everything they need,\u201d she said. :Children need psychological, financial and emotional support. They need food, clothes, education and even time for recreation. These are many responsibilities for one mother to carry alone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abu Amra said many children orphaned during the ongoing war are not receiving the same level of support that was available in previous conflicts, urging greater attention to the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn orphan needs to be seen and heard. Their needs must be met. They need someone who asks about them and cares for them, not just temporary assistance,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Yassin, of INH Indonesia, agreed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call on international organisations and human rights bodies to focus more humanitarian efforts on these cases because they are among the groups most affected in societies impacted by war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"OrganisersCelebrations as the winners receive their medals [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n

Back at the makeshift running track, a chorus of cheers erupted as the young runners crossed the finish line. As soon as the race was over, the children began lining up,<\/p>\n

excited to receive their medals.<\/p>\n

The organisers also symbolically honoured 100 orphaned children \u2013 Saif\u2019s name was the first to be called as a tribute to his courage and the journey he has endured since losing his father and becoming dependent on others after his injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy son needs to feel that he is still part of this world, that people see him and care about him,\u201d said Warda, as she watched her son receive his medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese orphaned children have lost so much, but they still deserve more support and hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OrganisersSaif Hijazi was honoured at the event [Abdelhakim Abu Riash\/Al Jazeera]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Khan Younis, Gaza Strip \u2013 As soon as the whistle blew, they all dashed off \u2013 and for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":570841,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[66183,1155,85,46,44,47,43,48],"class_list":["post-570840","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-child-rights","tag-human-rights","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-israel-palestine-conflict","tag-middle-east","tag-news","tag-palestine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570840","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570840"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570840\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570840"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570840"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570840"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}