{
  "id": 2596313,
  "title": "Guilt, grief and strength: Gaza’s ‘sole survivor’ children face life alone",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/guilt-grief-and-strength-gazas-sole-survivor-children-face-life-alone",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-22T15:10:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Middle East Eye",
    "slug": "middle-east-eye",
    "url": "https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/guilt-grief-and-strength-gazas-sole-survivor-children-face-life-alone"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Guilt, grief and strength: Gaza’s ‘sole survivor’ children face life alone\n\nIn 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.",
  "summary": "Guilt, grief and strength: Gaza’s ‘sole survivor’ children face life alone Submitted by Huda Skaik on Fri, 08/21/2026 - 13:25 Thousands of children who lost their families in Israeli strikes navigate grief, trauma and adulthood with little support A Palestinian mourns the death of Al Jazeera journalist Ahmed Wishah, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah…",
  "key_points": [
    "13-year-old Jana al-Motouq sole survivor of family killed in Israeli strike",
    "18-year-old Dima Junina survived bombing after door shielded her",
    "Survivor guilt common among Gaza's displaced children"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Al Jazeera",
        "title": "Hundreds of children take part in swimming class on Gaza’s shore",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/hundreds-of-children-take-part-in-swimming-class-on-gazas-shore",
        "published": "2026-08-22T11:58:55.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}