The mental health consequences of the 2023 genocide in Gaza, Palestine: A scoping review

Background: Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip has killed 7.9% of the population, and thousands of Palestinians have faced myriad forms of violence and imminent threats to life, including physical injuries from ballistics, home demolitions, and torture. These highly traumatic conditions pose severe psychological threats to Palestinians and may have reverberating effects in neighboring Arab countries. This scoping review aimed to examine the direct and indirect mental health consequences of Israel’s genocidal assault on Gazans, Palestinian citizens outside of Gaza, and populations in neighboring Arab countries and also investigated processes of coping and resilience among Palestinians. Methods: Following (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines, 42 articles, which were published after October 2023, were identified from five major search engines, including PubMed, Scopus, SpringerLink, Proquest, and Google Scholar. Studies investigated the psychological impacts of the 2023 genocide in Gaza, and their results were categorized into three groups: psychological impacts of wars, resilience, and coping strategies studies under war circumstances. Results: Findings revealed devastating mental health effects due to the genocide, with Gazans experiencing the most extreme outcomes. Gazan samples reported alarmingly high prevalence rates of mental health symptoms, including depression (72.7-99.5%), anxiety (65.0-99.7%), and PTSD (63.4-83.5%), which were the highest among all examined groups. Resilience and coping resources among Palestinians included cognitive strategies, family and social support, and religion. Conclusion: These findings highlight the large-scale psychological consequences of the 2023 Gazan genocide and underscores the urgent need for emergency mental health interventions in Palestine. Immediate action is necessary to prevent further psychological damage from the genocide and avert an irreversible humanitarian catastrophe.