Mental health disorders are one of the largest - and least acknowledged - health problems threatening the besieged children in Gaza.

Fear, anorexia, insomnia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), night terror, parasomnias, nocturia (night-time urination) and pavor nocturnes are among the many psychological effects the 18-month Israeli blockade has had on the children of Gaza.

The Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) has been tasked with treating the children in Gaza in line with a project launched in April 1990 by Dr. Eyad El Sarraj, the only psychiatrist who worked in the Gaza Strip at the time.

“Around 50 percent of the children in Gaza are in need of mental health interventions, yet mental health services are among the most under-resourced areas of health provision [in the territory],” Dr. El Sarraj has told Fars News Agency in a recent interview.

The program aims to provide basic counseling for people suffering from emotional trauma.

“The lack of proper facilities prevents the Palestinians from coming to our office for check-ups. They tell us their problems over the phone,” El Sarraj noted.

Gaza has long been a symbol of Palestinian resistance against Israel for understandable reasons. El Sarraj, however, has described the provision of mental health as an ultimate war front against the Israeli occupation.

The UN Children’s Fund has announced that the children are the main victims of the Israeli offensive into Gaza.

“Each day more children are being hurt, their small bodies wounded, their young lives shattered. This is tragic. This is unacceptable,” said UNICEF executive director Ann Veneman in a statement.

The UN special rapporteur on the Palestinian territories Richard Falk has also touched on the issue of the ongoing blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza.

“A recent study reports that 46 percent of all Gazan children suffer from acute anemia. There are reports that the sonic booms associated with Israeli overflights have caused widespread deafness, especially among children. Gazan children need thousands of hearing aids. Malnutrition is extremely high in a number of different dimensions and affects 75 percent of Gazans. There are widespread mental disorders, especially among young people without the will to live. Over 50 percent of Gazan children under the age of 12 have been found to have no will to live,” says Falk.

More than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed, over 400 of whom are children, in the Gaza war, which began on December 27. Nearly 6,000 Gazans have been injured.

NAT/AA