Why is PTSD an insufficient framework for understanding the experiences of children in Gaza?

NewsEvents
Written By PHRC PS

What’s called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) does not fully capture the experience of children in Gaza, because it assumes that danger has ended and trauma is in the past.

In reality, children in Gaza live under continuous, repeated, and open-ended trauma fueled by structural violence, siege, and fear. Even ordinary or unexpected sounds can become triggers, making persistent anxiety and traumatic memories a daily reality.

PTSD focuses on individual symptoms rather than the colonial and structural conditions that create constant threat, and it can pathologize natural responses to real danger. True recovery is impossible without safety and liberation from the structures that sustain fear and insecurity.

Safety and freedom are the first steps toward real healing for children in Gaza and in Palestine.

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