As Guns Go Silent, Gazan Children Still Have Nightmares 

Palestinian girl, Bissan al-Mansi, speaks to a psychiatrist at her house, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, May 16, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinian girl, Bissan al-Mansi, speaks to a psychiatrist at her house, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, May 16, 2023. (Reuters)
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As Guns Go Silent, Gazan Children Still Have Nightmares 

Palestinian girl, Bissan al-Mansi, speaks to a psychiatrist at her house, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, May 16, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinian girl, Bissan al-Mansi, speaks to a psychiatrist at her house, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, May 16, 2023. (Reuters)

Whenever a door slams, 10-year-old Bissan al-Mansi mistakes it for a bomb dropping. More than a week has passed since the latest round of fighting with Israel in Gaza, but al-Mansi says she still has nightmares.

Local psychiatrists said al-Mansi's symptoms were common among many children living in the enclave, who were experiencing lack of sleep, anxiety, bedwetting, as well as a tendency to stay glued to their parents and avoid going outdoors.

Palestinians have lived through several wars with Israel since 2008, which have made healing almost impossible as the causes remain unchanged, say local and international experts. They put the number of children needing mental health help at nearly a quarter of the enclave's 2.3 million population that lives under a crippling blockade enforced by Israel, which controls and restricts the Gaza Strip's borders.

Previous studies in Israel also find that Israeli children under continuous exposure to rocket fire in areas near Gaza experience high levels of stress, aggression and anxiety.

The latest bout of cross-border fire, which lasted five days, began with Israeli air strikes against alleged Islamic Jihad commanders in Gaza. Israeli officials alleged more than 1,000 rockets were fired at Israel. In all, 33 Palestinians were killed in Gaza, including children as well as six alleged armed group commanders, while an Israeli and a Palestinian worker were killed in Israel.

There are no safe bomb shelters in Gaza, where over 50% of Palestinians live in poverty and have no other place to take shelter than in their homes. Palestinian officials and international humanitarian organizations have warned that the healthcare system is on the brink of collapse. Access to health services is limited, movement is severely restricted, and the psychological scars run deep, aid groups have said.

"My dreams have changed, they were nicer before," said al-Mansi, who has seen a psychiatrist since the fighting ended. "I have a lot of fear. I can no longer sleep at night."

The girl's house, in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, was among several homes that had been damaged or destroyed when Israel bombed their neighborhood after giving residents about 30 minutes to evacuate.

Al-Mansi, one of five siblings, said she was now too afraid to go outside, even to play with her friends. Before the fighting, she would wake up early eager to go to school, where her favorite subjects are Arabic and history, but since the fighting ended she hasn't returned.

"If someone slams the door, I imagine it is an air strike," she said.

'They bombed the whole square'

According to Hamas officials, the movement ruling Gaza, the latest round of Israeli air strikes, which began on May 9, destroyed 100 housing units and damaged 2,000 buildings.

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Process Tor Wennesland condemned the Israeli air strikes that killed civilians, while Israel denied it targets civilians. Wennesland also condemned the "indiscriminate" firing of rockets toward Israel.

Social activists, medics with the Palestinian Red Crescent, and psychiatrists toured areas affected and met with the children and their families to offer guidance on recovery.

"I came here to distract myself from the pressure," said Joudy Harb, 11, as volunteers in cartoon costumes painted the children's faces, played and danced. "They said they wanted to bomb two houses and instead, they bombed the whole square."

According to officials from the UN's Children's Fund (UNICEF), half of the young people in Gaza - around 500,000 children - could be in need of psychological support after 11 days of fighting in 2021 between Gaza's Hamas and Israel.

UN officials and Palestinian mental health experts said that for the sake of all children's well-being and their future, a long-term peaceful solution to the Israeli military occupation is needed, one that prevents a repetition of wars and is sustainable.

Following another round of fighting, Palestinian families said the traumatic symptoms their children endured have worsened.

"Unfortunately, the fear remains planted in their hearts," said Mazeyouna al-Mansi, the girl's aunt.



Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
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Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa

Hatem Abdelhamid stands amid his once-thriving date palms in northern Sudan, helpless as a prolonged war-driven power outage cripples irrigation, causing devastating crop losses and deepening the country's food crisis.

"I've lost 70 to 75 percent of my crops this year," he said, surveying the dying palms in Tanqasi, a village on the Nile in Sudan's Northern State.

"I'm trying really hard to keep the rest of the crops alive," he told AFP.

Sudan's agricultural sector -- already battered by a two-year conflict and economic crisis -- is now facing another crushing blow from the nationwide power outages.

Since the war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, state-run power plants have been repeatedly targeted, suffering severe damage and ultimately leaving farms without water.

Like most Sudanese farms, Abdelhamid's depends on electric-powered irrigation -- but the system has been down "for over two months" due to the blackouts.

Sudan had barely recovered from the devastating 1985 drought and famine when war erupted again in 2023, delivering a fresh blow to the country's agriculture.

Agriculture remains the main source of food and income for 80 percent of the population, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Now in its third year, the conflict has plunged more than half the population into acute food insecurity, with famine already taking hold in at least five areas and millions more at risk across conflict-hit regions in the west, center and south.

The war has also devastated infrastructure, killed tens of thousands of people, and displaced 13 million.

A 2024 joint study by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that nearly a third of rural households have lost irrigation and water access since the war began.

Without electricity to power his irrigation system, Abdelhamid -- like thousands of farmers across the country -- was forced to rely on diesel-powered pumps.

But with fuel scarce and prices now more than 20 times higher than before the war, even that option is out of reach for many.

"I used to spend 10,000 Sudanese pounds (about four euros according to the black market rate) for irrigation each time," said another farmer, Abdelhalim Ahmed.

"Now it costs me 150,000 pounds (around 60 euros) because there is no electricity," he told AFP.

Ahmed said he has lost three consecutive harvests -- including crops like oranges, onions, tomatoes and dates.

With seeds, fertilizers and fuel now barely available, many farmers say they won't be able to replant for the next cycle.

In April, the FAO warned that "below average rainfall" and ongoing instability were closing the window to prevent further deterioration.

A June study by IFPRI also projected Sudan's overall economic output could shrink by as much as 42 percent if the war continues, with the agricultural sector contracting by more than a third.

"Our analysis shows massive income losses across all households and a sharp rise in poverty, especially in rural areas and among women," said Khalid Siddig, a senior research fellow at IFPRI.