The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip has resulted in the death and injury of more than 50,000 Palestinian children since October 7, 2023.
"In just 72 hours last week, images from two horrific attacks in Gaza provided further evidence of the devastating cost of this brutal war on children," UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said in a statement published by the UN agency on its website on Wednesday.
"On Friday, we saw videos of the burned and dismembered bodies of children from the al-Najjar family being pulled from the rubble of their home in Khan Yunis," in the southern Gaza Strip, he added.
"Of the 10 siblings under the age of 12, only one child with serious injuries was reported to have survived," the UN official continued, explaining that "early Monday morning, we saw images of a little girl trapped in a burning school in Gaza City. This attack, which occurred in the early hours of the morning, reportedly killed at least 31 people, including 18 children."
UNICEF said, "Since the ceasefire ended on March 18, 1,309 children have been killed and 3,738 others injured. In total, more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured since October 2023."
"How many more girls and boys must be killed? What level of horror must be broadcast live before the international community fully intervenes, uses its influence, and takes bold and decisive action to force an end to this merciless killing of children?" UNICEF's Regional Director asked.
He continued: "These children are lives that should never be reduced to numbers. They are now part of a long and horrific list of unimaginable horrors: grave violations against children, the blockade of aid, starvation, ongoing forced displacement, the destruction of hospitals, water networks, schools, and homes. In short, the destruction of life itself in the Gaza Strip."
UNICEF urged "all parties to the conflict to end the violence, protect civilians, including children, respect international humanitarian law and human rights law, allow immediate access to humanitarian aid, and release all hostages."
She stressed that "the children of Gaza need protection, food, water, and medicine, and they need a ceasefire."
"Most importantly, they need immediate collective action to stop this once and for all," she added, referring to the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Gaza Strip that has lasted for more than 600 days.
Over the course of nearly 20 months of genocide in Gaza, the occupation targeted dozens of shelters, including schools, universities, hospital grounds, and areas designated as safe by the Israeli military. This resulted in the deaths and injuries of thousands of Palestinians, most of them children and women, according to official data.
שתף את דעתך
UNICEF: 50,000 children killed or injured in Gaza Strip since the start of the aggression