A lost summer: Gaza’s children face a childhood without play
Gaza mothers recount a third summer of war as children shoulder adult responsibilities, stripped of play and creativity
Gaza Strip : Inside a partially damaged building in western Gaza City, 35 year-old Faten Nabhan sits with her six school-aged children after spending the morning filling water containers from aid trucks serving the displacement camp.
Although she wants to keep her children engaged with fun or educational activities during their summer break, Faten says she no longer knows where to begin.
For the third straight year since Israel's war on Gaza began in October 2023, summer has lost all resemblance to what children in the enclave once experienced.
After more than 73,000 people including thousands of children were killed, much of Gaza's infrastructure was destroyed, and the vast majority of residents were displaced, daily survival has become the overwhelming priority for Palestinian families.
Instead of enjoying summer camps, outings and games that once marked the holiday season, children now spend their days collecting water from distribution trucks, bringing food from communal kitchens, and gathering firewood for cooking.
"This is my children's daily routine... this is all they do," Faten said.
She explained that, like countless other children across Gaza, her sons and daughters have virtually no opportunities for recreation, creativity or emotional relief.
"There are no activities, no camps, no drawing, no colours nothing. The only thing I can do is help them memorise parts of the Quran. That's all I'm capable of providing," she said.
Faten believes children should be spending summer exploring their talents and enjoying activities that develop their abilities, but says the means simply do not exist.
"We have ideas. Summer should be a time when children release their energy and build new skills, but there are no resources no toys, no notebooks, no crayons, not even paper and pens," she added.
Keeping children occupied
Faten now shoulders the responsibility of occupying and caring for her children alone after her husband, Raafat, was killed in an Israeli air strike on their home in Jabalia refugee camp in October 2024.
"I can hardly provide food and meet their most basic needs," she said.
She explained that her children have been forced to assume responsibilities far beyond their years, taking turns fetching water, collecting firewood and helping with household tasks in the absence of their father.
"It breaks my heart to see them spending their childhood this way. Childhood should be about playing, not carrying responsibilities," she said.
Yet she says families have few alternatives.
According to Faten, there are no organised community or institutional programmes offering psychological support or recreational activities for children living in displacement camps during the school holidays.
"Our children are living in a forgotten corner of the world," she said. "Every day I see grief and loss in their eyes. Even the simplest thing a chance to play is missing."
Her experience reflects broader concerns raised by international organizations working on children's welfare.
A UNICEF assessment published in May found that young children in Gaza are growing up without the safe and stimulating environments needed for healthy development, while older children continue to suffer from prolonged interruptions to their education and limited opportunities for social and psychological growth.
Earlier this year, UNICEF's communications chief in Palestine, Jonathan Crickx, stressed that play is essential for children in Gaza rather than an optional luxury.
"Play is how children reclaim what war stole from them," Crickx said.
Some children still have opportunities
Forty one-year old Asmaa Saleh, also displaced in Gaza with her five children, has spent the war moving from one location to another in search of safety while trying to ensure her children aged between eight and 17continue learning.
Her determination to preserve some sense of education has shaped how the family spends the summer.
She encourages all of her children to memorise Quranic verses and has managed to enrol two of them in a summer camp run by a local charity, although they can only attend once each week.
Even that single day has become a highlight for the children, making them feel fortunate compared with many of their peers.
"On camp day they wake up early with excitement, rushing to shower, fix their hair and get dressed. Sometimes they even skip breakfast because they're so eager not to be late," Asmaa said with a smile. "But for the rest of the week, that excitement disappears and every day feels the same."
For the remaining six days, the children follow a repetitive routine of eating, helping their mother around the tent, washing clothes, cooking, kneading dough and collecting water.
Asmaa, who previously worked for UNICEF as a case manager, says the difference in her children's behaviour after attending camp is unmistakable.
She believes organized activities help develop children's emotional wellbeing, intelligence and ability to cooperate with others, while spending long periods confined inside crowded tents with no outlet often leads to stress, frustration and arguments among siblings.
She points to her own family as an example. Her third daughter, who does not attend the camp, frequently appears more tense and clashes with her brothers and sisters, while the daughters who participate return home noticeably happier and more relaxed.
For Asmaa, this reinforces the importance of play and education rights guaranteed to children under international conventions.
"Today, children in Gaza are being denied these rights at the very time they should be enjoying them in their simplest form," she said.
Determined to provide something for all of her children, including those unable to attend camp, Asmaa recently received crayons and drawing paper from a charitable organisation.
She now spends part of each day sitting with her children to draw and colour together.
"I try to make the most of whatever time they have during the summer," she said. "I keep doing it because I can see the positive psychological difference that even one hour of organised play and drawing makes."
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