Children killed in Gaza a 'stain on our collective conscience': UNICEF

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
25 Oct 2023 08:19

Approximately 50% of Gaza's population, totaling 2.3 million people, consists of children.

Palestinian children injured in an Israeli air strike await treatment (AFP)

The regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at UNICEF, Adele Khodr, has described death and injury rates of children in Gaza as “simply staggering".

Khodr has called for an urgent ceasefire and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid to the region, emphasizing that the increasing number of child casualties is a “growing stain on our collective conscience."

She also pointed out that harming or killing children, targeting hospitals and schools, and preventing humanitarian assistance are severe violations of children's rights.

"Even wars have rules. Civilians must be protected – children particularly – and all efforts must be made to spare them in all circumstances," Khodr stressed.

The UN's children's organization, in its statement, reported that approximately 2,360 children in Gaza have been killed and around 5,364 have been injured as a result of the continuous brutal Israeli airstrikes since October 7.

#Gaza's youngest pay the highest toll in "Israel's" aggression on the Strip.#PalestineGenocide #GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/h6NKB48QPt
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 21, 2023

Gaza children left 'severely traumatized'

According to a Palestinian psychiatrist, Palestinian children living in Gaza are experiencing serious trauma, in addition to their increased chances of injuries or death.

Fadel Abu Heen reported that the psychological impact of war on the children has begun to develop in the shape of "convulsions, bed-wetting, fear, aggressive behavior, nervousness, and not leaving their parents’ sides.”

The psychiatrist emphasized that a sense of horror has impacted the entire population, children in particular, detailing how some children do not express their fears, therefore harboring the trauma within them.

#Watch | "Come on, Anous... You're a hero!"

A circulating video shows a #Palestinian child making every effort to escape from under the rubble after his family's house in #Gaza was bombed by the Israeli occupation.#GazaGenocide #Palestine pic.twitter.com/GIWVM1f8RH
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 25, 2023

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry on Saturday, the Israeli occupation committed 550 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the martyrdom of 3,353 members of these families since the beginning of the aggression.

The Israeli occupation has continued its brutal aggression on the Gaza Strip for more than two weeks now, targeting homes, residential towers, UN schools, bakeries, ambulances, and hospitals.

Footage shows a #Palestinian child being tended to after being injured by "Israel's" indiscriminate targeting of civilians in #Gaza.#GazaUnderAttack #GazaGenocide #GazaUnderSiege #Palestine pic.twitter.com/JSqxSOWKfr
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 20, 2023

"Israel" claims it is directly targeting Hamas, yet children make up a majority of the over 6000 Palestinians killed in Gaza.

A 15-year-old in Gaza has been through five periods of intensive bombardment: 2008-9, 2012, 2014, 2021, and now 2023.