Youths make up 24% of Gaza genocide victims: PCBS
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According to a PCBS research released on International Youth Day, 75% of those killed by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, are under the age of 30.
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People and rescuers remove the body of a person killed in an Israeli strike on al-Tabieen school in Gaza on August 10, 2024. (AFP)
The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) stated today that 24% of those killed in the ongoing Israeli onslaught in Gaza are youth, with 26% male and 22% female.
According to a PCBS research released on International Youth Day, 75% of those killed by Israeli occupation forces in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, are under the age of 30.
The analysis indicates that Gaza's population growth rate would fall sharply from a projected 2.7% in 2023 to about 1% in 2024, following a major reduction in birth rates caused by the continuing Israeli assault.
According to the paper, intentional attacks on children and youth will have a direct influence on the population's age and gender structure, resulting in long-term demographic shifts.
Palestine had a population of almost 5.6 million people prior to the Israeli onslaught, with 1.2 million adolescents aged 18-29 accounting for 22% of the total. By the end of 2023, this share was 22% in the West Bank and 21% in Gaza, the report stated.
Additionally, Israeli troops murdered 653 students from higher education institutions, including 619 in Gaza and 34 in the West Bank. Furthermore, 105 education personnel in Gaza have been murdered, while 1,406 students from Gaza's higher education institutions have been wounded.
The United Nations revealed in a report last month that 143 Palestinian children have been killed by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF) in the West Bank since October 7, compared to the 41 children that were killed during the first nine months of 2023.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in the Gaza Strip reported today, Sunday, that al-Tabieen school massacre in Gaza City carried out by Israeli occupation forces at dawn on Saturday has been deemed the deadliest atrocity in northern Gaza since the al-Maamadani Hospital massacre.
Our correspondent reported that only 75 of the victims from the massacre have been identified, while many remains belong to unidentified individuals. Due to the horrible condition of the remains, paramedics have resorted to estimating that every 70 kilograms of remains counts for one martyr.
AFP reported body parts being strewn around the ruins and charred, bloodied bodies slumped in the wreckage of the two-story complex.
Abu Wassim, a neighboring resident who arrived to investigate the situation, expressed that "peaceful people – women, children, and youths – were performing the Fajr prayer as usual when suddenly a missile hit them."
"Children were torn apart, and women were burned. What can we say or do? What is in our power?"
'Israel' killed at least 500 health workers since Oct. 7: Ministry
The Israeli occupation continues its aggression against the Gaza Strip for the 310th day, committing further harrowing massacres against civilians by bombing homes and displacement areas, resulting in more martyrs and injuries.
In the latest attacks, Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported Israeli artillery shelling, east of the al-Bureij camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, while IOF fired toward the northeastern part of the camp.
In southern Gaza, Israeli artillery targeted western and northern Rafah, as per our correspondent.
An Israeli airstrike also hit the town of al-Qarara, northeast of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, coinciding with Israeli strikes on the western part of the Bani Suheila area east of the city.
In a related context, the Ministry of Health announced the martyrdom of approximately 500 health sector personnel and the injury of hundreds since the start of the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza on October 7, 2023.
The ministry added in its statement that "Israel" has arrested over 310 medical staff and destroyed 130 ambulances in Gaza.
It noted that the systematic targeting of medical infrastructure by the IOF has deprived citizens of access to basic healthcare services.
The ministry further stated that poor water and sanitation conditions, along with overcrowding, have led to an increase in preventable diseases and early deaths.
It highlighted that Gaza is facing a public health disaster due to unsafe water resources and a lack of basic sanitation needs for over 1.7 million forcibly displaced people.
