Gaza Strip: World's deadliest place for children

ANKARA - The Israel-Palestine conflict that has been ongoing since Oct 7 continues with five children being killed every hour in the Gaza Strip.

Half of Gaza's population of 2.3 million consists of children, and the number of youths who were killed in the first three weeks has exceeded the global average of children killed in the past three years, reported Anadolu Agency.

More than 40 per cent of the 7,028 Palestinians killed in the conflict since Oct 7 have been children, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data.

A United Kingdom-based organisation, Save The Children, said over 3,000 children were killed in Palestine within a three-week period, citing data from the health officials in Gaza.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said Israel killed 9,061 Palestinians in attacks, including 3,760 children, 2,326 women and at least 32,000 people were injured.

Save The Children said the number of children killed in Palestine in the last three weeks exceeded the number of children killed in conflicts worldwide from 2020 - 2022.

In reports by the United Nations Secretary-General on Armed Conflicts and Children, it was stated that 2,985 children died in 24 countries in conflicts in 2022; 2,515 were killed in 2021 and 2,674 in 2020.

The report for 2019 did not provide information about the number of countries but said 4,019 children were killed in conflicts worldwide.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health published a 212-page report on the deaths in Gaza due to Israel's attacks between Oct 7 and Oct 26 and found 2,913 of the 7,028 killed were children.

Out of the total, 133 babies under the age of one, and 444 babies younger than three were killed.

Meanwhile, 171 children at the age of three, 1,527 elementary school age (4 - 13), and 523 high school age (14 - 17) were also killed.

Meanwhile, the WHO announced a significant portion of the 18,482 people injured in Palestine since Oct 7 are children.

According to UNICEF, Gaza is turning into a graveyard for children.

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder expressed concern about child deaths in Gaza under Israel's heavy attacks. He emphasised that children have been adversely affected by the conflict.

Elder reiterated UNICEF's demand for an urgent ceasefire and the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

"Children in Gaza are not only dying because of the bombings, but they are also dying due to the lack of the medical care they need," he added. - BERNAMA