Our life stops: West Bank childhood shattered by Israeli military raids
Children in the Dheisheh refugee camp recount their fears and trauma from frequent Israeli raids. A UN commission reports over 20,000 Palestinian children killed since October 2023, with raids increasing by 37% in 2025.
Children's Experiences in the Raids
In the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, three children share their stories of encounters with the Israeli military. Yanal, 14, who speaks three languages, recalls soldiers entering a football field with no escape. Mustafa Abu Aliyah, 13, ran into a raid while heading to his grandfather’s house; the army fired live rounds and tear gas. His sister Diyar, 12, was in the middle of a piano lesson when soldiers came – tear gas, beatings, injuries, and deaths are part of daily life.
The children often cannot recall specific dates because raids happen so frequently. In the first nine months of 2025 alone, Israeli forces carried out nearly 7,500 raids across the occupied West Bank, an average of 27 per day, a 37 percent increase compared to 2024.
UN Report: The Essence of Childhood Destroyed
The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry released a report on Tuesday titled “The essence of childhood has been destroyed.” It found that Israeli forces have killed at least 20,179 Palestinian children and wounded over 44,000 across the occupied territory since October 2023, most in Gaza. The report states that deliberate targeting of children constitutes part of the genocide.
In the West Bank, the report documents a sharp rise in settler violence against children, including the shooting of a two-year-old girl in January 2025. Children are detained without a lawyer or notification to parents, amounting to enforced disappearance. Schools are targeted: 85 schools in the West Bank face demolition or stop-work orders.
Psychological Trauma
Psychologist Lemis Farraj explains that children suffer from continuous traumatic stress, distinct from PTSD, because there is no single event to recover from – the fear of the next raid is constant. Diyar says, “Our life stops.” Mustafa says he has become used to it, but Farraj observes regression and startle responses in five-year-old Khour Hammad, whose parents are both arrested. Khour recalls soldiers entering at night; she thought her father had returned, but instead she was questioned. She wants the world to see her photo and help free her parents.
Generational Trauma
The UN report notes that Palestinian refugees, now in their fifth generation, have internalized a sense of dispossession from the Nakba (the 1948 ethnic cleansing), compounded by daily occupation. Farraj emphasizes that recovery requires stability – family support, schooling, safe spaces – all precarious under occupation.
