Gazan Youth in Despair: Gaza, a Prison for Bodies, Souls, and Hopes

Despair is gripping the lives of young people in Gaza, reaching unprecedented levels of intensity and danger. The lasting impact of Israel’s siege on the Gaza Strip, which began 17 years ago in 2005, has created an environment devoid of even the slightest glimmer of hope for an entire generation of Palestinian children and youth.

Living without the hope of protection from Israeli violence, whether it attacks by land, sea, or air, every child in Gaza faces the constant fear of sudden death according to Taher Alassar who is a Palestine Public Refugees committee representative at Nusierat refugee camp.

The Israeli military violence strikes without warning, snuffing out lives in an instant, Alassar argues that Gazan child knowing they could lose their lives at any moment hangs heavily on their hearts.

The despair extends into adulthood as well where Gazan families make immense sacrifices to ensure their children excel academically. However, after years of hard work, the pride of obtaining a university diploma quickly fades away in Gaza due to the bad ecconomic sercumistances.

Unemployment has skyrocketed throughout the Strip due to Israel’s suffocating blockade, which seals off all borders and restricts the flow of goods and services where it is also exceptionally rare for Gazan youth to have the opportunity to travel outside the region for advanced education. Consequently, young men and women who have worked diligently and witnessed their families’ sacrifices find themselves grappling with the harsh reality that there is no future for them in Gaza.

Since January 2006, the residents of the Gaza Strip have endured dire humanitarian conditions due to Israel’s blockade, resulting in a significant deterioration across all sectors, particularly the economy. Poverty rates have soared to 61%, and unemployment has surpassed 47% and Israeli restrictions and aggressions, whether direct or indirect, have caused the collapse of vital sectors within Gaza.

Under these immense pressures and with the loss of hope, thousands of Palestinians, particularly the youth, have been compelled to leave the Gaza Strip in search of safer and more stable places to build their futures. Tragically, many Palestinians have lost their lives attempting dangerous maritime routes to escape Gaza.

This perilous situation escalated significantly after Israel’s military attack on the Gaza Strip in 2014.

Despair has long plagued the people of Gaza, but its current extent and intensity have reached alarming levels.

Suicide attempts, once rare and isolated, have now become distressingly common in the Gaza Strip. These attempts take various forms, with young men being more susceptible. Studies suggests that around 100 young Palestinian men have perished while trying to escape Gaza in small boats in search of a glimmer of hope, turning their journey from a life of meaninglessness to a death of meaninglessness.

The responsibility for this bleak reality rests on many shoulders becouse of the Israeli occupation and the internal division among Palestinians to the silence of the international community, this is a collective failure.

Al Assar argues that dire situation in Gaza calls for urgent attention and action he says that international community must address the root causes of despair and work towards a just and sustainable solution that offers hope, dignity, and a future for the young people of Gaza, until then, the cycle of despair and tragedy will continue to grip the lives of Gazan youth, leaving behind shattered dreams and lost potential.