More than 1,000 children in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7 until now, as surviving children suffer incalculable physical and emotional consequences as a result of intense Israeli shelling and unprecedented internal displacement.
Israeli forces they kill a Palestinian child about every 15 minutes since the israeli army launched a massive military attack on Gaza Strip on October 7, after Hamas fired rockets into Israel and breached Israel’s perimeter fence surrounding Gaza, launching attacks inside Israel. Israeli forces launched a large-scale military operation called Operation Iron Swords.
“The effects of this war have not only affected the victims we lost, some of whom are still trapped under the rubble of their homes, and the residential areas that have been completely destroyed, including our own homes, but also the psychological effects on our civilians and children will be devastated,” said Mohammad Abu Rukbeh, a senior field researcher in Gaza at Defense for Children International Palestine.
The number of dead and wounded given by the Gaza Health Ministry only includes people admitted to hospitals, so at least 1,000 more Palestinians are estimated to be missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings, according to the Interior Ministry. Palestinian children who have so far survived the Israeli military’s intense shelling of the Gaza Strip are suffering from an increasingly terrible man-made humanitarian crisisworsening existing ones mental and emotional trauma which suffered from 16 years of siege and from Israeli military attacks.
It is estimated that 1 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced, according to the UN, including more than 600,000 people hosted in central and southern Gaza, according to the UN’s OCHA. From October 11 at 2 p.m. Gaza faced a complete blackout after Israeli authorities cut off electricity and fuel supplies on October 7 and the Gaza power plant ran out of supplies, according to UN OCHA. THE lack of electricity has exacerbated the existing food crisis as refrigeration is not possible and irrigation and agricultural activity have stopped. Fuel reserves and backup generators in hospitals are not expected to last more than 24 hours.
The Israeli authorities cut off the water supply to Gaza on October 9 and since then, all three water desalination plants in Gaza have been forced to cease operations, according to UN OCHA. The vast majority of Palestinians in Gaza does not have access to clean drinking water and some have resorted to drinking dirty well water, raising concerns about water borne diseases. Although Israeli authorities claimed to have restored water supplies to southern Gaza yesterday, there is no electricity to run water pumps, Israeli airstrikes have destroyed many water lines, and very little water in Gaza is potable in the first place.
The psychological toll on Palestinian children in Gaza is further underscored by the pre-existing challenges they faced prior to the recent series of Israeli military attacks.
According to the organization, at 2.3 million people trapped in the Gaza Strip include approximately:
- 340,000 babies and children up to 4 years old
- 290,000 children aged 5-9
- 280,000 children aged 10-14
- 240,000 teenagers aged 15-19
In total, one third of Gazans are babies, children and teenagers, i.e. over 800,000. The ratio is the same for the 3,500 dead.
Source: News Beast
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