UNICEF reported that in the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza alone, more than 50 children have been killed in the past 48 hours due to the extreme violence this conflict has wrought on young lives. The Save the Children charity said this tragic toll underlines “the intensity of this conflict and the war on children.”
Children live under bombardment and perpetual fear, said Rachel Cummings, Humanitarian Director at Save the Children International.
Since the hostilities escalated last October, Palestinian officials have said more than 16,700 children have been killed in the Israeli assault on Gaza-which is one-third of 43,341 deaths confirmed so far by health authorities. Cummings added that this number does not include the estimated 20,000 missing or unaccompanied children due to the conflict.
Israel’s month-long siege of northern Gaza has killed more than 1,000 people and also cut off food and medicine shipments, crippling health centers in the area. “Aerial attacks are relentless, and food and water supplies are critically low. Convoys of aid are being refused entry into the north, creating a catastrophic situation,” Cummings said. “What’s going on in north Gaza can be described as nothing less than apocalyptic.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safia of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only functioning hospital in northern Gaza, said casualty rates have skyrocketed and called for the “international community and health organizations to appeal for an urgent humanitarian passage to bring in fuel, medical supplies, and specialized medical personnel.”
Recent statements by UNICEF explained that the killing of the children was due to an Israeli attack on two residential buildings hosting hundreds of people. “These are only the latest incidents in one of the darkest periods of this terrible war,” said its Executive Director, Catherine Russell.
The statement further reported that a UNICEF staff member on a mission for the polio vaccination campaign was under attack by a drone while passing through Jabalia, one of the areas most affected by the attacks carried out by Israel:
“The Jabalia strikes, the vaccine clinic, and the UNICEF staff member are just examples of what happens in the disastrous results of indiscriminate attacks against civilians in Gaza, exposing the whole population, particularly children, to the risk of disease, famine, and continued bombardments,” the statement read.
The WHO said on Sunday that Israeli forces threw a stun grenade into a polio vaccination center in Gaza City, wounding at least four children during an agreed humanitarian pause to facilitate the delayed inoculation campaign.
Continuing the siege that has plunged the territory into a dire humanitarian crisis, an Israeli air raid on two of the most crowded areas in the north claimed 13 Palestinian lives. The UN rights chief, Volker Turk, said the “darkest moment” of the conflict was now unfolding in northern Gaza.
Israel’s military campaign many describe as “a war of revenge”-against Palestinians began after a Hamas-led assault on Oct 7, 2023, killed more than 1,100 people, most of them civilians, and took around 240 hostages.
