{"id":13101,"date":"2026-02-22T20:28:49","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T20:28:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=13101"},"modified":"2026-02-22T20:28:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T20:28:49","slug":"yoga-classes-aim-to-bring-moments-of-peace-to-gazas-traumatised-children-israel-palestine-conflict-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=13101","title":{"rendered":"Yoga classes aim to bring moments of peace to Gaza\u2019s traumatised children | Israel-Palestine conflict News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Recreational activities combined with yoga in Gaza help children recover a sense of normalcy despite war, teacher says.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p><strong>Gaza City \u2013<\/strong> In northern Gaza, a Palestinian teacher has transformed a tent into a small space for yoga classes, offering children moments of peace from the hardships of daily life in the besieged enclave.<\/p>\n<p>The idea to bring the practice to Gaza City came from Hadeel al-Gharbawi, who has been working on finding ways to help children cope with trauma. Through simple movements and breathing, the class offers moments of calm, safety and joy.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p data-start=\"127\" data-end=\"373\">Children sit cross-legged on a thick mat, eyes shut. Some concentrate, while others fight back shy smiles, sneaking sideways glances to see whether their classmates are following the teacher\u2019s instructions, amused by the unfamiliar exercise.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to expand the activities I do with children beyond drawing and colouring. I searched online and discovered that yoga can help children recover from trauma,\u201d al-Gharbawi told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince yoga isn\u2019t widely available here in Gaza, I decided to learn online and practice it with the children. Through yoga, they can release stress and cope with the difficult life around them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Children in Gaza have been exposed to continuous cycles of violence and trauma, profoundly affecting their mental health, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.emro.who.int\/emhj-volume-31-2025\/volume-31-issue-4\/cases-of-trauma-due-to-war-and-violence-among-children-in-gaza.html\">report<\/a> by the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n<p>The constant bombing, displacement, loss of family members and physical pain of Israel\u2019s two-year war on Gaza have caused emotional distress, social withdrawal and grief, among other symptoms, the report says.<\/p>\n<p>International organisations have been warning that the conflict will leave a long-lasting impact.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll children in Gaza require mental health, and psychosocial support services after two years of horrific war, displacement, and exposure to traumatic events,\u201d the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) said earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>This is why yoga classes are more than physical exercise in Gaza; they allow children to step away from fear, release emotions, and feel in control, even for a few minutes, the participants say.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe come here to do yoga, to learn and to do art,\u201d Suwar, a displaced student, told Al Jazeera. \u201cThese activities allow us to forget, even for a short time, the war, the harsh weather and the queues for water. Yoga, in particular, gives us a moment of calm and helps us feel safe and happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Alongside yoga, the tent offers educational and recreational programmes that al-Gharbawi said aim to activate the children\u2019s imaginations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCombining learning with playful and therapeutic activities helps the children deal with trauma and regain a sense of normalcy,\u201d al-Gharbawi said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recreational activities combined with yoga in Gaza help children recover a sense of normalcy despite war, teacher says. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Gaza City \u2013 In northern Gaza, a Palestinian teacher has transformed a tent into a small space for yoga classes, offering children moments of peace from the hardships of daily life [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13102,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}