Between the 10th and 21st of May, 2021, Israeli airstrikes and shelling killed 256 people, including 66 children in the Gaza Strip. Almost 2,000 Palestinians were injured in Gaza, including over 600 children and 400 women, some of whom sustained injuries resulting in long-term disability (OCHA). In Israel, there were 13 deaths and 700 injuries as a result of rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. On May 21st, 2021, an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire came into effect and the bombings stopped in the Gaza Strip.

For most Palestinians in Gaza, this unfortunately wasn’t the first time they experienced airstrikes. The trauma of fearing for your life, of seeing your home in ruins, and of economic hardships that accompany such escalations, has long-term consequences for many, particularly when it comes on top of pre-existing trauma from previous rounds of violence and life under 15 years of blockade. The latest offensive has made the mental health crisis in Gaza more acute and made it even harder for people to cope.