The war’s impact on Israeli children: 971 orphans

The National Council for Child Welfare found that 56 children were killed during the war, with the majority of them (36) slaughtered during the October 7 Hamas massacre.

By Lauren Marcus, World Israel News

An Israeli children’s advocacy group published a report revealing disturbing statistics relating to the outbreak of war on October 7, 2023, and its impact on Israeli children.

According to the National Council for Child Welfare’s 2024 report, 56 children were killed during the war, with the majority of them (36) killed during the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel.

Hamas and Hezbollah rocket and missile attacks killed 14 children. Four children were killed in terror attacks.

Two children, Ariel and Kfir Bibas, were murdered in captivity, alongside their mother, Shiri.

Many children were seriously injured during the October 7 massacre and near-daily Hezbollah and Hamas bombings immediately following the slaughter.

At least 1,000 kids were hospitalized at some point due to war-related injuries, the report stated.

Over 23,000 children have been officially recognized as “victims of hostilities,” entitling them to government stipends and support, including physical and emotional therapies.

Some 3,000 children have been left with “severe physical or mental disabilities” due to the war, according to the report.

The war has also been devastating for the Israeli family unit.

The number of children who lost one parent on October 7 is 359, with 30 children losing both their mother and father.

During the subsequent war, another 612 children lost a father who was serving in the military or security forces.

A total of 971 Israeli children have lost at least one parent since October 7.

More than 1,000 kids lost a brother or sister, counting casualties both during the massacre and the war.

“These are numbers that the mind has difficulty accepting and the soul has difficulty bearing,” said Vered Vindman, the head of the National Council for Child Welfare, in a media statement.

“The trauma of the morning of the massacre, the fact that there are still hostages in Gaza, including parents of children, and the ongoing war – all of this leaves children and youth with severe and worrying signs of distress, anxiety and mental challenges, some of them very extreme,” she added.