Guilt, grief and strength: Gaza’s ‘sole survivor’ children face life alone

Guilt, grief and strength: Gaza’s ‘sole survivor’ children face life alone

In Gaza, thousands of children have lost their families in Israeli strikes, navigating grief, trauma and adulthood with little support. A day in the life of 13-year-old Jana al-Motouq begins with her preparing breakfast, doing her laundry and getting ready for school. Al-Motouq is the sole survivor of her family after an Israeli strike killed her parents, twin sister and younger brothers in November 2023.

Most of Gaza’s 2.2 million people have been displaced multiple times, leaving a generation forced to grow up amid grief, displacement and uncertainty. Another 35 members of al-Motouq’s extended family were also killed. Survivor guilt is common among those like al-Motouq, according to psychologist Sereen al-Absi, who works with survivors.

They often feel guilty for surviving while their loved ones are gone, even though they had nothing to do with the tragedy. Al-Motouq lives with her maternal grandparents in a tent after displacement destroyed her previous life. Another 18-year-old, Dima Junina, survived an Israeli bombing that killed her father, mother and three younger brothers.

She survived because a door shielded her beneath the rubble, but for hours, she feared her family was still alive. Unlike many, Junina dislikes being treated as an orphan and prefers not to be pitied. Both teenagers now carry the responsibilities their parents once had, with Junina describing herself as becoming "five people in one" to manage everything her late parents handled.

Strength has emerged, but grief remains a constant companion, affecting their interactions and causing them to withdraw from others at times.