The Gaza Civil Defence has stated that at least 500 Palestinian children have been killed by continuous Israeli airstrikes and bombardments since the last month’s violation of the ceasefire with Hamas. The organisation’s spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, has stated that the situation is becoming increasingly serious, with one UN official labelling the war-scarred territory as a “post-apocalyptic” killing field.
Israeli attacks on Saturday killed a minimum of six more individuals, including one child, and increased the death toll in the 24 hours to over 20. At least 1,500 people have been reported killed since hostilities resumed on March 18, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
Saturday saw two Palestinians reported killed and two children injured in Gaza’s Tuffah district. Two others were confirmed dead in the northern al-Atatra neighborhood of Beit Lahiya, and a further Palestinian died in a drone strike in the Qizan an-Najjar area, south of Khan Younis.
Tragic scenes were seen in the al-Mawasi area, to the west of Khan Younis, as Israeli airstrikes targeted civilian tent shelters, previously labeled by Israel as “safe zones.” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary, reporting near Al-Ahli Hospital in Deir el-Balah, told us of the tragic story of a baby girl Sham, who succumbed to severe wounds after her family was ambushed. “She was in extremely critical condition; her arm was amputated, and she passed away a few hours later,” Khoudary said.
Conditions remain in disarray, with orders for forced evacuation issued in Shujayea and Khan Younis, leaving many Palestinians in doubt where to seek shelter. “We see the ambulances coming every day, and most of those targeted, injured, or killed are children and women,” Khoudary added.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani noted that 36 of the 224 reported Israeli strikes in Gaza between March 18 and April 9 killed only children and women. Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq issued a statement emphasizing the perilous trend of attacking susceptible groups. Such a concerted effort to eradicate women, boys, girls, and even infants has not been observed in any other modern war,” they asserted.
Philippe Lazzarini, director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), referred to Gaza as a “post-apocalyptic” death zone in an Al Jazeera interview. Speaking at the Antalya Diplomacy Forum in Turkiye, he accused Israel of withholding essential humanitarian goods like food, fuel, and medicines, in contravention of international law.
UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma warned that all vital commodities in Gaza are fast running out, leaving children and babies with severe difficulties. “It means babies and children are going to bed hungry,” she explained.
Israel vowed to continue military action, and authorities laid out plans to capture additional territory in southern Gaza and to issue further coercive evacuation orders. More than 400,000 Palestinians have been forcibly removed from their homes since the March 18 ceasefire expired. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 115,000 injured in the ongoing conflict that began on October 7, 2023, leading to widespread indignation among human rights organizations.
