Palestinians in Gaza suffering ‘volcano’ of psychological trauma due to war

Residents in Gaza are suffering “a volcano” of psychological trauma after two years of constant Israeli bombardment and repeated military incursions, Palestinian mental health specialists have said. Since the recent ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into effect on October 10, there has been a “very large increase” in the number of people seeking treatment from the Gaza City Mental Health Hospital team, according to its head Abdallah al-Jamal. “With the start of the truce, it was like a volcano erupting in patients seeking mental health services. Even the stigma that used to be present before, the fear of visiting a psychologist, does not exist anymore,” he told Reuters news agency.