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Gaza's children struggle with memories of war - Yahoo! News

Gaza's children struggle with memories of war - Yahoo! News: "GAZA CITY (AFP) – Fourteen-year-old Ghasan Matar won't talk about the explosion that cost him his legs and killed his brother. In fact, six months after the end of the Israeli war on Gaza, he still barely talks at all.

He spends most of his time staring at the walls and a huge poster depicting his older brother against a bloody background of war featuring a Kalashnikov assault rifle and dead Israeli soldiers.

He says he never thinks about the day when the house was hit during heavy shelling of Gaza City's Zeitun neighbourhood. He insists he has no nightmares. 'I'm doing fine,' he says, and then clams up.

'He's very traumatised. He doesn't speak, tries to act like nothing happened,' says social worker Nisrin Ramadan during a visit to the boy's crumbling brick home.

'There are many cases like this of deep shock and loss of hope,' says Ramadan, who works with the Society for the Physically Handicapped.

More than 300 children were among the 1,400 Palestinians killed and many more were wounded during the 22-day Israeli offensive that ended on January 18, according to Palestinian figures."

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