Widespread Poverty in Gaza Is Forcing Children to Become Breadwinners
Por Hend Salama Abo Helow — Truthout
“Here I am, thousands of miles away from my dreams,” said one 14-year-old.
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Despite the restrictions that had long stifled Gaza prior to October 7, 2023, it was a remarkably young society, shaped by high fertility rates and a culture in which raising children and building close-knit families were at the heart of life. Nearly half of Gaza’s population was children under the age of 18, who had been denied the chance to witness a normal, peaceful life.
Since the genocide began, Gaza has witnessed one of the deadliest assaults in modern history. Israeli forces have killed, injured, detained, tortured, and starved children, depriving them of their basic rights to education, adequate health care, and a safe childhood, as the United Nations’ Independent Commission of Inquiry has documented. Over the last nearly 3 years, children have accounted for nearly 30 percent of Gaza’s death toll, amounting to at least 21,000 victims. More than 44,000 have been injured, many with potentially life-changing injuries. Another 17,000 children have been left grieving the loss of their parents.
The UN Commission also found that Israeli atrocities amounted to genocide, crimes against humanity, and grave violations of international law. Yet, since the so-called ceasefire took effect, the bombs may have slowed, but they never stopped. More than 300 children have been killed since October 10, 2025.
As the Commission has stated, “the essence of childhood has been destroyed” by Israel. But the human cost extends beyond the staggering numbers of deaths: It includes the suffering of the children who have survived. They are being forced out of childhood, bearing burdens far beyond their age, and working to keep their destitute families afloat.
Ahmed Al-Nabahin, a 14-year-old child who should be in secondary school rather than shouldering the responsibilities of a breadwinner, is working as a wood and rubbish collector as a matter of survival.
“I was forced to drop out of school in order to keep my family of six afloat, as living expenses were skyrocketing,” Ahmed told Truthout.
Sweat streaming down his face, he told me that he usually kicks off work at 6 a.m. and returns at 9 p.m. “Exhaustion does little to convey what I feel at the end of the day, all for 25 shekels [almost $5 USD] in compensation,” he said.
Given Gaza’s depressed economy, no job lasts long, forcing Ahmed to shift between multiple hazardous jobs. He vividly recalled a moment when Israeli forces nearly took his life during a shift: “I was rummaging through rubbish in [the neighborhood of] Al-Zahra when a quadcopter attacked us.”
Ahmed sobbed, then continued: “I managed to escape by a miracle, but my friend was injured and bled to death.”
He added, “Each time I go to work, I know deep down that I am jeopardizing my life and may never return. But my younger siblings and mother are waiting for me to bring them food.”
As we spoke, a group of young children were playing football nearby. Ahmed tilted his head toward them. With a quivering voice, he said, “I wish I could play like them. I wish I could stop working and return to school.”
Breaking into tears, he continued, “I’ve been dreaming of becoming a prominent, talented football player and a dentist. But here I am, thousands of miles away from my dreams.”
Yet it is even more heart-wrenching for parents to witness their child paying the highest price. For Nisreen Abu Mallouh, Ahmed’s mother, the fear of losing her son has become a nightmare she lives with every day. She worries that Ahmed may accidentally cross the “yellow line,” the boundary of occupation demarcated by the so-called ceasefire, which is ill-defined and coming under more Israeli control by the day. “This specter keeps haunting me: maybe my son will be killed by Israeli forces or Israeli-backed gangs.”
His family had no choice but to accept the grave reality. His mother lamented: “Ahmed was an intelligent student, yet harsh life conditions forced him to … venture out to work.”
She added: “He has become more aggressive and angry, and his sleep has become disturbed since he started working. I feel he’s not Ahmed. He’s not the same Ahmed he was before the genocide.”
The Ministry of Social Development in Gaza continues to report an alarming increase in the number of children entering the labor market compared with pre-genocide levels. The loss of a family’s primary provider, or both providers, has compelled children to make desperate choices simply to meet their families’ basic needs.
For 14-year-old Saad Abu Bithan, the genocide turned life upside down. “I used to enjoy mornings with my family. Yet now, my mornings are mundane, rushing to arrive at work on time,” he told Truthout.
Working as a debris collector from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m., Abu Bithan remarked: “There are days when I cannot pull myself together to stand tall. My family’s needs leave no room for relief, neither a pause.”
Twenty shekels was his compensation for a 17-hour workday. “I wish I could buy clothes and shoes with my earnings, but my family is a higher priority for me,” he said.
Holding back his tears, he added: “I’m robbed of my childhood. I took on responsibility far too early.”
The Ministry of Social Development warned that pushing children into the labor market exposes them to exploitation. Sadly, Saad encountered this firsthand.
“One night, on my way back, a gang of thieves attacked me and plundered the little money I had earned. I barely managed to escape with my life. This accident left me with not only a physical scar, but a psychological one as well,” Saad said.
Abdallah Abu Shammala, a psychologist working with international NGOs, expressed alarm over the exploitation facing children who are pushed into work. “These children should be in their formative stage, learning social skills, problem-solving, how to deal with their peers, and how to regulate their emotions,” he said.
“Childhood is the cornerstone of a child’s future personality. The first 5 to 10 years determine much of what their future life looks like and how they make decisions,” Abu Shammala continued.
Drawing on his experience treating children, Abu Shammala explained that normal developmental growth is being impaired under these conditions. “These children do not yet have the psychological, mental, or cognitive capacity to be immersed in this kind of work. Their maturity does not match the burden of the responsibilities placed upon them,” he told Truthout.
Abu Shammala explained the psychological toll:
“Suffering from genocide, loss, displacement and starvation, many of these children tend to resist feelings of distress, fear and anger, burying them deep down just to carry on. They believe that work is the lifeline for their families, so they have no choice but to keep going, no matter what they feel deep down or what they themselves want. In this case, they are shutting down their childhood. These children are supposed to watch cartoons, not live through a bloody genocide. This genocide is not just shrinking children’s comfort zone, but also narrowing their vision of the future.”
Recalling his therapeutic sessions with children, Abu Shammala said: “When I ask them, ‘What do you want to be in the future?’ their silence was [overwhelming].”
“The ongoing war risks the loss of an entire generation from Gaza’s future workforce,” warned Dr. Maher al-Tabbaa, a Gazan economic expert. “I expect child labor to increase even further in the years ahead.”
With reconstruction plans put on hold, the economic crisis continues to deepen, threatening to push even more children into the labor market. “If Gaza’s economic recovery will take years, so too will the repercussions for these children,” Al-Tabbaa said.
For Abu Shammala, addressing those repercussions requires more than treating their immediate symptoms.
“We cannot undo what has already been ravaged, nor can we turn back the clock. We should not just treat the symptoms. We should create the conditions for these children to grow safely,” he said.
Ahmed told me, “I want the world to intervene to stop this war by any means, so I can feel safe.”
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Hend Salama Abo Helow is a researcher, writer and medical student at Al-Azhar University in Gaza. She is also a writer with We Are Not Numbers and has published in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Institute for Palestinian Studies, Mondoweiss and Al Jazeera. She believes in writing as a form of resistance, a silent witness to atrocities committed against Palestinians, and a way to achieve liberation.
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Fonte: Truthout
