A volunteer group in Gaza is providing psychological relief services to displaced women, many of whom have been suffering from depression since the outbreak of the war due to unemployment, siege, and a deep feeling of despair.

About 1.1 million women lived in the Gaza Strip before the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on Oct 7, 2023. Women constitute 49.3 percent of the total population in the Strip. Palestinian women in Gaza suffer the bitterness of war and risk their lives in order to feed their children. Many have lost their lives due to the spread of disease, lack of medicines, and also during childbirth.

This war has had a deep psychological impact on women, including Umm Muhammad Wadi, whose son was injured in an Israeli air strike in the Shuja'iya neighborhood in November 2023. As the bombing intensified, she decided to move from northern Gaza to the south, where she now lives in a tent. What caused her depression was that she lost contact with one of her sons who tried to return to northern Gaza.

"I suffer a lot from the difficult living conditions in tents and the high temperatures. My son has also been missing for two weeks. He was trying to return to Gaza City, from which we were displaced, despite his foot getting amputated. We pray to god that this war ends and we get to live in peace. We have been tested enough," said Wadi.

As women in Gaza urgently need mental support, a group of female doctors and trainers including Heba Al-Najjar have volunteered to provide psychological relief services under projects sponsored by the Women's Affairs Center.

"We have received training on how to work in times of crises and emergencies in accordance with the international guidelines of the World Health Organization. We've also received training on how to provide primary health care in cases of injuries, childbirth, and other emergencies," Najjar said.

This group of women meets for three hours a day, where they talk about the pain and the difficulties they face due to the war. Then they have playing, entertaining, screaming sessions, and other activities that help reduce the severity of the psychological impact on them. They also get training in first aid and leadership.

"We've benefited from the first aid course as it helped us in being able to provide primary medical care to our children and relatives in case they got injured and it took time to reach the hospital. We also benefited from the psychological support course by learning how to help our children and offer them mental succor," said Am Diab Al-Jamal, another displaced woman in Gaza.

According to UN Women in March, the number of women killed in Gaza has touched 9,000. During this war in Gaza, 45 women are killed every day, and at least 3,000 become widows, who have to support their families in an extremely dangerous environment.

SHOTLIST:
Gaza Strip - Recent
1. Various of people, vehicles on street;
2. Tent, people;
3. Various of women, children in tent;
4. Tent, clothes;
5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic, dubbed with English) Umm Muhammad Wadi, Gaza resident:
"I suffer a lot from the difficult living conditions in tents and the high temperatures. My son has also been missing for two weeks. He was trying to return to Gaza City, from which we were displaced, despite his foot getting amputated. We pray to god that this war ends and we get to live in peace. We have been tested enough.";
6. People distributing balloons to women;
7. Various of psychological counseling session in progress;
8. SOUNDBITE (Arabic, dubbed with English) Heba Al-Najjar, Palestinian psychological trainer:
"We have received training on how to work in times of crises and emergencies in accordance with the international guidelines of the World Health Organization. We've also received training on how to provide primary health care in cases of injuries, childbirth, and other emergencies.";
9. Various of psychological counseling session in progress;
10. Painting;
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic, dubbed with English) Am Diab Al-Jamal, displaced woman:
"We've benefited from the first aid course as it helped us in being able to provide primary medical care to our children and relatives in case they got injured and it took time to reach the hospital. We also benefited from the psychological support course by learning how to help our children and offer them mental succor.";
12. Various of women sitting, talking to each other.

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