❗️How psychological trauma is forcing Gaza’s children into silence

 ❗️How psychological trauma is forcing Gaza’s children into silence

According to a report by Middle East Monitor, thousands of children in Gaza are no longer speaking, and it is not because their voices are physically gone, but because the deep psychological scars that have appeared after two years of genocide have stolen their words.

According to a report by the Gaza  Community  Mental Health  Program (GCMHP), medical professionals are witnessing a worrying rise in what they call traumatic mutism: children who can speak but refuse to, their language trapped in shock, fear, and grief. Symptoms include chronic nightmares, hypersensitivity to loud noises, bed‑wetting, and a pervasive silence despite no physical vocal injury. Even older children are losing the ability to form words.

Efforts to provide therapy are being disrupted by power cuts, communication blackouts, and continued bombardments. Prior to the latest escalation, more than half the children in Gaza already showed signs of post‑traumatic stress. Now, mental health specialists warn of a “linguistic and emotional collapse” threatening to silence an entire generation.