According to the UK-based humanitarian organisation Save the Children, at least 2,000 children have perished as a result of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza over the previous 17 days.
The organisation quoted numbers from Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry, which said on Monday that Israel’s siege of the enclave has killed at least 5,087 people, including at least 2,055 children.
“Thousands of homes, and dozens of playgrounds, schools, hospitals, churches and mosques have been damaged or destroyed in Gaza,” Save the Children said in a statement. “At least 4,600 children [have been] injured as reported by the [Gaza] Ministry of Health – some with excruciating burns, lost limbs and other horrific blast injuries.”
It stated that Israeli airstrikes are “killing and injuring children indiscriminately.”
In addition to the 2,055 children said to have been killed in Gaza, the charity also noted Israeli media reports stating that “a further 27 children were killed in Israel.”
In reaction for the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s surprise entry into Israeli territory on October 7, Israel has unleashed an unprecedented assault of Gaza. Approximately 1,400 people, largely civilians, were murdered in the raid, which also saw Hamas fighters kidnap 250 captives.
On Monday, Hamas freed two elderly female Israeli hostages, as pressure mounted on the group to release all captives held in Gaza. As part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to eliminate Hamas, Israel is widely anticipated to launch a ground operation into the enclave in the coming days.
“With the death toll climbing, children are at risk and terrified,” Save the Children’s Jason Lee said in a statement. “In every major escalation, children have been killed or injured.”
Lee went on to say that a cease-fire must be reached soon because “the only way to truly protect children’s lives is to stop this violence.”
Save the Children warned of a new humanitarian disaster in Gaza, warning that over 1 million children are “trapped in the middle of the active conflict zone” with no way out. Many people are without medication and sufficient care after Israel cut off power to key healthcare infrastructure, according to the agency.
