Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds but for Gaza's children, the trauma remains

It’s exhausting to the system,” Lahad said.As a result, he said he found children in Israel and Gaza “regress” by avoiding school and visiting friends, and they are less likely to try new things.“It takes some time to realize that a sudden noise does not mean a threat,” Lahad said.President Joe Biden said Friday there has been no shift in his commitment to Israel’s security, but insisted a two-state solution that includes a state for Palestinians remains “the only answer” to the conflict.Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been in close touch with regional leaders, also plans to travel to the region to meet with Israeli, Palestinian, and other counterparts in the coming days to discuss "recovery efforts and working together to build better futures for Israelis and Palestinians," Ned Price, a State Department spokesperson also said Friday.But the unpredictability of the region and the constant threat to safety, has led Jabr of the Palestinian Ministry of Health to believe the trauma experienced by Palestinians cannot be defined as post-traumatic stress disorder.“PTSD best describes the experience of soldiers who go back to the safety of the home and they disconnect completely from the traumatic experience,” she said.“For Palestinians, traumatic threats are repetitive and ongoing,” she said, adding that there is no “post-trauma” and fears for safety and the feeling of helplessness carry on even after a cease-fire.In the meantime, all mental health professionals can do is try to heal the generational scars and provide what she calls palliative care through therapy, she said.Bianca Britton is a reporter for NBC News' Social Newsgathering team based in London.Mohammed Syed is a reporter for NBC News' social newsgathering team.Rima Abdelkader is a senior reporter for Social Newsgathering at NBC News in New York.© 2021 NBC UNIVERSAL