A report published by the British NGO “Save the Children” earlier this month revealed that children living in areas of Gaza hardest-hit during last year’s conflict still show signs of severe emotional distress, including high levels of bedwetting and nightmares.

According to a survey conducted by the organization, an average of 75% of children experience unusual bedwetting regularly. In one area, al-Shoka, nearly half the children interviewed wet the bed every night. It also found that up to 89% of parents reported that their children suffer consistent feelings of fear, while more than 70% of children said they were worried about another war. Also, seven out of 10 children interviewed suffer regular nightmares.

“The results of this survey are extremely alarming for those of us who work with children in Gaza,” Said David Hassell, Co-Country Director of Save the Children.

“They have lived through events that would give even the most hardened adult nightmares. The continued blockade and threat of renewed conflict makes it very difficult for children to recover from the trauma they have experienced,” he added.

A year on from the conflict, around 100,000 people are still homeless, while major reconstruction of health facilities, water networks and schools has yet to begin.

Save the Children CEO Justin Forsyth says: “Many children in Gaza have now lived through three wars in the past seven years, the last one notable for its brutality. They are emotionally and, in some cases, physically shattered.”

“The world cannot sit by and watch while these children’s hopes for a better future are crushed by the blockade and the looming threat of another conflict. Political leaders on all sides should stop posturing and start acting – they need to work together to agree to a plan for a lasting peace deal that includes ending the blockade on Gaza.”

Save the Children concluded the report by calling on the international community to exert all its diplomatic influence to respond to what it described as an ongoing war on children and to end the blockade imposed on Gaza.

During last year’s 51-day aggression, 551 children in Gaza were killed and 3,436 were injured, while an estimated 1,500 children lost their parents. Many more were made homeless and saw their schools damaged or destroyed.