In Gaza, a Virtual Reality Headset to Help Children Traumatized by War

In Gaza, a virtual reality headset is being used to help children traumatized by war. A little boy, seated in a wheelchair, marvels, "I see birds," as the virtual reality device transports him far from the destruction of Gaza, ravaged by more than two years of conflict between Israel and Hamas.

In reality, the boy is under a white polyester tent, surrounded by a sea of identical tents on the sandy grounds of al-Zawayda in the central Palestinian territory. Alongside him, four other children explore a virtual world, supervised by an instructor from "Techmed Gaza," a therapeutic project that utilizes virtual reality.

The project's leaders claim that this method shows quicker effects on children's psychological well-being than traditional therapies. One boy reaches out and closes his hand as if trying to catch an insect. Another smiles as he moves his hands in front of him, seemingly navigating through a forest. "Come here!" calls one child to a dog he claims to see through his headset. "You’re in the same place as I am!" exclaims another to his neighbor.

Earlier, an instructor gently placed a headset on the head of 15-year-old Salah Abou Roukab, whose skull has been deformed by a head injury and who still bears some scratches on his skin. "We enjoy this; thanks to it, we enter a garden, we visualize it, with animals and everything," Salah told AFP, smiling shyly. When asked what he sees, he replies, "There are only trees, just trees, grass, and flowers."

Abdalla Abou Chamale, the program supervisor, explains that it’s not just about allowing children to escape. "Thanks to the programmers, we can design games with therapeutic, preventive, and developmental goals that help prepare children or allow them to adapt and manage their daily lives more easily," Mr. Abou Chamale states. "This method has proven effective during a full year of work with many children, including those who have been amputated during the war, injured, or exposed to extremely traumatic events."

The sessions leave children excited, yet they return to their particularly harsh daily lives. In the camp for displaced persons affected by fighting and bombings, humanitarian conditions remain dire despite the fragile ceasefire in effect since October 10.

In 2024, pediatrician Hanan Balkhy from the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the devastating effects of the conflict on children, noting a "huge impact on mental health" and "significant post-traumatic stress symptoms." The WHO regularly points out the mental health needs in Gaza and the lack of available psychosocial services, as more than 70,000 people have reportedly been killed since October 7, 2023, according to the Ministry of Health of the Hamas government in Gaza, figures deemed reliable by the UN.

"About one million children, or all the children in the Gaza Strip, need mental health and psychosocial support after two years of devastating war," reminds UNICEF spokesperson Jonathan Crickx in the Palestinian territories. Some workshops offered by "Techmed Gaza" are specifically designed for children traumatized by war, aiming to help them rebuild a positive perception of the world after months of violence.

Mr. Abou Chamale believes that the children involved in the program have shown "very clear reactions and extremely positive results." "With regular sessions, without virtual reality, we usually need about 10 to 12 sessions, whereas with virtual reality, we can achieve results in just five to seven sessions," he adds.