According to Gaza's Hamas-run Health Ministry, more than 3,600 Palestinian children were killed in the first 25 days of Israel and Hamas's conflict.
Among those killed were newborns and toddlers, avid readers, aspiring journalists, and boys who thought they’d be safe in a church. They were hit by airstrikes, smashed by misfired rockets, burned by blasts, and crushed by buildings.
With 2.3 million people living in the densely populated strip, nearly half of them are under the age of 18, and children make up 40% of those killed in the conflict thus far. As of October 26, 2,001 children under the age of twelve have died, including 615 who were three years old or younger, according to an Associated Press analysis of statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry published last week.
“Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children,” said James Elder, a spokesperson for UNICEF, the UN children’s agency.
However, Israel says its airstrikes target Hamas militant sites and infrastructure, and it accuses the group of using civilians as human shields. It also says more than 500 militant rockets have misfired and landed in Gaza, killing an unknown number of Palestinians.
More children have been killed in just over three weeks in Gaza than in all of the world’s conflicts combined in each of the past three years, according to the global charity Save the Children. It said 2,985 children were killed across two dozen war zones throughout all of last year.
Among those killed were newborns and toddlers, avid readers, aspiring journalists, and boys who thought they’d be safe in a church. They were hit by airstrikes, smashed by misfired rockets, burned by blasts, and crushed by buildings.
With 2.3 million people living in the densely populated strip, nearly half of them are under the age of 18, and children make up 40% of those killed in the conflict thus far. As of October 26, 2,001 children under the age of twelve have died, including 615 who were three years old or younger, according to an Associated Press analysis of statistics from the Gaza Health Ministry published last week.
“Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children,” said James Elder, a spokesperson for UNICEF, the UN children’s agency.
However, Israel says its airstrikes target Hamas militant sites and infrastructure, and it accuses the group of using civilians as human shields. It also says more than 500 militant rockets have misfired and landed in Gaza, killing an unknown number of Palestinians.
More children have been killed in just over three weeks in Gaza than in all of the world’s conflicts combined in each of the past three years, according to the global charity Save the Children. It said 2,985 children were killed across two dozen war zones throughout all of last year.
