Some 21 children from 13 families were left without both of their parents, either because they were murdered or kidnapped in the October 7 massacre conducted by Hamas in southern Israel, the Welfare Ministry announced on Sunday.
Of the 21 children, most of their parents were murdered. One of the children, a four-year-old girl, was orphaned and kidnapped by Hamas and is still being held hostage in Gaza. Another girl lost her mother, and her father was kidnapped and is being held hostage in Gaza.
Social workers from the welfare service have contacted all the families who are hosting the 21 children and are providing them with support and assistance.
"The fact that so many children are victims of the brutal attack by Hamas turns my stomach," said Welfare Minister Yaakov Mergi. "I instructed the relevant professionals in the office to simplify every process and speed up the provision of responses to both the children and the families who are raising them at this time.
"The Welfare Ministry is prepared to provide long-term and trauma-focused care to every boy and girl affected by this criminal attack, and in particular to children who were left as [double] orphans," he said. "The State of Israel will be their mother and father and will take care of them throughout their lives and we will not spare efforts and resources to help them recover."
Welfare Ministry to provide affected children with therapeutic services
The Welfare Ministry will provide the children with therapeutic services, including emotional, mental health, and material needs. It will also help the children access the rights they're eligible for from other ministries.
"Each child is a whole world – and most children, in addition to losing their parents, were also present amid the inferno of the terrorist attack," says Eti Kisos, vice president of Social Services at the Welfare Ministry, who is responsible for locating the affected children.
While "many lost a parent or other family members in the terrorist attack and we will have to take care of them as well, it was important for us to reach the children who were left [both] fatherless and motherless as quickly as possible, to check that they are in a safe place, to help the family members who are currently taking care of them, and to give them the assurance that the State of Israel is with them and will continue to support and accompany them in the future as well," she said.
"We wish to embrace the children and the families and allow them to process the trauma and act to exercise their rights without bureaucracy."
Welfare Ministry Director-General Yanon Aharoni stated that, "Besides the central role the Welfare Ministry has in treating the victims of this crisis, one of the horrible aspects of the terrorist attack is the orphaned children – and we do not forget them for a moment. We embrace these children and promise them and their family members that together with all the partner government ministries, we will be their backs, we will accompany them and we will take care of them – both in the short term and in the long term."