We thank the Palestinian children and adolescents for their participation in the study. Also, we greatly appreciate the cooperation of parents, schools' principals, and Ministry of Education in Palestine for their agreement to give us a permission to collect the data from the students. Besides, we thank schools' counsellors and psychologists for their help in data collection.

Background: The situation in the Gaza Strip is uncommon in the frequency with which children are exposed to war-related traumatic events on a daily basis and because of the long-term nature of the conflict. The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents in the Gaza Strip increased after the recent wars. The aims of the study are: To investigate the prevalence and nature of war traumatic events and PTSD; and to investigate how these traumatic events predict PTSD when taking into account demographic and socioeconomic status factors amongst Palestinian children and adolescents in the Gaza Strip. Methods: The sample consists of 1,029 school pupils (11-17 years old): 533 (51.8%) were female and 496 (48.2%) were male. War-Traumatic Events Checklist (W-TECh) Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Symptoms Scale (PTSDSS) were used. Results: The majority of children and adolescents experienced personal trauma (N: 909; 88.4%), witnessed trauma to others (N: 861; 83.7%) and observed demolition of property (N: 908; 88.3%) during the war. Compared to girls, boys showed significantly more exposure to all three event types as well as overall traumatic events. Results also demonstrated that the prevalence of DSM-V PTSD diagnosis was 53.5% (N = 549). Further, children who had experienced personal trauma, trauma to others, and the demolition of property were significantly more likely to be diagnosed with PTSD compared to those who had not, even when adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors. The strongest war trauma for PTSD is personal trauma followed by witnessing trauma and then observing demolition of properties. Conclusions: The study provides valuable evidence that demographic and socioeconomic factors mediate the relationship between different war traumatic events and PTSD. Interventions should take into account the children's background including their gender, age, where they live, and their socioeconomic status (e.g., family income, parents' educational level, family size) to alleviate the psychological symptoms and to enhance their resilience.

Background: After the war, which was conducted against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among children and adolescents has increased. The counselling department at the Ministry of Education in the Gaza Strip applied a counselling program in schools in order to alleviate the effect of exposure to war. The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of the counselling program after exposure to war-traumatic events among Palestinian children and adolescents in the Gaza Strip. Methods: The sample consists of 572 students aged 12-18 years old. Of them, 331 (57.9%) were female and 241 (42.1%) were male. Traumatic events were measured by War-Traumatic Events Checklist (W-TECh). PTSD was measured by the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Symptoms Scale (PTSDSS). Anxiety symptoms were adapted from The Anxiety Symptoms Scale, and depression symptoms were measured by Child Depression Inventory. Repeated measures design was employed as the counselling program was applied in all the schools at the same time. Specifically, the data were collected from the participants before the application of the counselling program and 2 months later. Results: After applying the school-based counselling program, the prevalence of PTSD (according to DSM-V) decreased from 57.5% to 45.6% among the children and adolescents who were exposed to war-traumatic events. In addition, PTSD symptoms, and emotional, somatic and cognitive functional impairment symptoms has decreased after the implementation of the counselling program especially amongst girls. Conclusions: The school-based counselling program was effective in decreasing the PTSD symptoms among children and adolescents after the exposure to wartraumatic events.

We thank the Palestinian children and adolescents for their participation in the study. Also, we greatly appreciate the cooperation of parents, schools' principals, and Ministry of Education in Palestine for their agreement to give us a permission to collect the data from the students. Besides, we thank schools' counsellors and psychologists for their help in data collection. The relationship betweenTrait emotional intelligence, prosocial behaviour, parental support and parental psychological control and PTSD and depression Abstract Objectives: This study investigates the relationship between trait emotional intelligence (trait EI), prosocial behaviour, parental support, and parental psychological control on one hand and PTSD and depression symptoms on the other hand after exposure to war-traumatic events among Palestinian children and adolescents in the Gaza Strip. Methods: The sample consists of 1029 students aged 11-17 year old. Of them 533 (51.8%) were female and 496 (48.2%) were male. The following measures were used in the study: War-Traumatic Events Checklist (W-TECh), Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire -Adolescent Short Form (TEIQue-ASF), prosocial behaviour (as part of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire -SDQ), parental support scale, Parental Psychological Control scale, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders Symptoms Scale (PTSDSS) and the depression scale. Results: 88.4% (N: 909) experienced personal trauma, 83.7% (N: 861) witnessed trauma to others, and 88.3% (N: 908) have seen demolition of property during the war, mostly by boys. The results also demonstrated that the prevalence of PTSD diagnosis according to DSM-V is 53.5% (N: 549).Further, there is a negative correlation between trait EI and prosocial behaviour in one hand and parental psychological control and PTSD and depression symptoms in the other hand.Likewise, a negative correlation was found between parental support and depression symptoms. Low trait EI and father psychological control significantly mediated the relationship between exposure to war trauma, and PTSD and depression. In addition, negative parenting factors and low prosocial behavior mediated the relationship between exposure to war trauma and depression. Conclusion: Trait EI and parental support can be utilized in interventions to empower children and adolescents' emotional abilities, to strengthen their resilience in facing traumatic event exposure, and thus reduce its effect on PTSD and depression symptoms.

Conflict leads to toxic stress and health problems in childhood and beyond. Long term investment in evidence informed mitigation strategies is needed to end the devastating cycles of violence, write Muthanna Samara and colleagues