More children killed in Gaza since Oct 7 than in world's conflict zones in three years

RAMALLAH - The number of children reported killed in Gaza in just three weeks has surpassed the annual number of children killed across the world's conflict zones since 2019, Save the Children said.

Since Oct 7, more than 3,257 children have been reported killed, including at least 3,195 in Gaza and and 33 in the West Bank.

According to the last three Annual Reports of the UN Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, a total of 2,985 children were killed across 24 countries in 2022, 2,515 in 2021 and 2,674 in 2020 across 22 countries, while in 2019, 4,019 children were killed.

The non-governmental organisation in a statement on its website said children make up more than 40 per cent of people killed in Gaza, with a further 1,000 children has been reportedly missing in Gaza, assumed buried under the rubble, the death toll is likely much higher.

Save the Children Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory Jason Lee, said: "Three weeks of violence have ripped children from families and torn through their lives at an unimaginable rate. The numbers are harrowing and with violence not only continuing but expanding in Gaza right now, many more children remain at grave risk.

"Save the Children calls for an immediate ceasefire. We call on all parties to the conflict to take immediate steps to protect the lives of children, and on the international community to support those efforts, as is their obligation,” according to the statement.

It is reported that at least 6,360 children in Gaza have also been injured, as well as at least 180 children in the West Bank.

The risk of children dying from injuries has never been higher, with the UN reporting that a third of hospitals across the Gaza Strip are no longer operational due to electricity cuts and a "total siege” by Israel that blocked entry of goods such as fuel and medicine. - BERNAMA