'Israel' orphaned 39,000 Palestinian children in Gaza

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: News websites
Today 08:28
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A harrowing new report reveals that over 39,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both parents amid ongoing Israeli attacks.

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Traumatized Palestinian children carry belongings as they are forcibly displaced from the Shujaiyah neighborhood following evacuation warnings issued by the Israeli army, in Gaza City, on Thursday, April 3, 2025 (AP)

Over 39,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both of their parents amid relentless Israeli attacks, a new report has found, as the death toll climbs to 50,523, with 114,776 others wounded since 7 October 2023.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the enclave is now facing "the largest orphan crisis in modern history," with tens of thousands of children left without parental care due to the prolonged Israeli onslaught.

In a statement issued ahead of Palestinian Children’s Day, which falls today, the bureau confirmed that 39,384 children have been orphaned during the 534 days of bombardment. Of these, around 17,000 children have lost both parents and are now "facing life without support or care."

Meanwhile, at least 100 Palestinian children have been killed or injured each day in Gaza since "Israel" broke the ceasefire on March 18, the head of UNRWA said, citing UNICEF.

Harrowing.
At least 100 children are reported killed or injured every day in #Gaza, since the strikes resumed (on 18 March) according to @UNICEF

Young lives cut short in a war not of children’s making.

Since the war began 1.5 years ago, 15,000 children were reportedly…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) April 4, 2025

Calling the situation "harrowing", Philippe Lazzarini lamented the "young lives cut short in a war not of children’s making."

He added that 15,000 children had been reportedly killed since the war broke out on Gaza.

The UNRWA chief maintained that the war has "turned Gaza into a “no land” for children."

"This is a stain on our common humanity. Nothing justifies the killing of children wherever they are," he asserted, calling for an immediate ceasefire.

'Israel' weaponizing food and aid in Gaza: UN

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees accused "Israel" of weaponizing humanitarian aid in its war on Gaza.

Philippe Lazzarini raised alarm over the worsening conditions in the besieged enclave, where "Israel’s" blockade and military actions continue to devastate the population.

"Hunger & desperation spread as food & relief assistance are being weaponized," Lazzarini said in a statement, highlighting the consequences of "Israel’s" total blockade.

He noted that it has been “over a month of total siege,” with Israeli authorities blocking the entry of essential supplies, including food, medicine, and fuel—amounting to what he described as “a collective punishment.”

The continued denial of aid, he warned, is contributing to “a breakdown of civil order.”

Palestinians in Gaza, he stressed, are “exhausted as they continue to be locked up in a tiny piece of land,” urging that “aid must be allowed in and the siege must be lifted.”

IOF attacks on vital facilities aim at suffocating Gaza: Hamas

The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement - Hamas condemned on Friday "Israel's" continued onslaught in Gaza, saying "the pace of massacres committed by the fascist occupation army against unarmed civilians continues across all areas of the Gaza Strip."

Hamas highlighted that areas like Khuzaa, east of Khan Younis, the town of al-Nasr, northeast of Rafah, and the neighborhoods of Shujaiya and al-Tuffah in eastern Gaza City have bore the brunt of Israeli brutality, with dozens of martyrs and wounded in recent hours, "all part of the ongoing brutal genocide taking place before the eyes and ears of the world."

The statement further noted that the occupation targeted the water desalination plant in the al-Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City early this morning, emphasizing that it is "a clear war crime aimed at tightening the siege and further suffocating innocent civilians."

It stressed that the occupation’s systematic military escalation, deliberate targeting of densely populated areas, and deprivation of civilians from the most basic necessities of life and survival reveal its true objectives, "which go far beyond the issue of retrieving captives, to a fascist, sadistic campaign of revenge, and an attempt to implement criminal plans of genocide and forced displacement."

"The great people of Palestine and their valiant Resistance will not yield to this fascist will, and through their steadfastness and resilience, they will thwart all plans aimed at liquidating their cause and erasing their presence on their land," Hamas' statement further read.

The movement concluded its statement by saying that "these blatant violations of international law against Gaza and its people will remain a stain of shame on the forehead of the international community and its complicit, silent system, a curse that will follow all those who have betrayed our people and colluded in these unprecedented crimes."

Horrific night in Gaza as IOF claims 86 Palestinian lives in 24 hours

The ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip continues to take a devastating toll, with 86 martyrs and 287 injuries reported on Friday, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Gaza hospitals are overwhelmed as the casualties from the recent attacks continued to pour in.

Since March 18, 2025, the total number of martyrs has reached 1,249, with 3,022 injuries. The overall toll from the Israeli aggression, which began on October 7, 2023, has now risen to a staggering 50,609 martyrs and 115,063 injuries, according to the Health Ministry.

The dire situation in Gaza continues to worsen as the international community grapples with the impact of this brutal escalation.