Over 14,000 children killed in Gaza Strip since escalation of Israel-Hamas conflict began

At least 14,350 minors have died in the Gaza Strip since the start of a new round of escalation in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on October 7 last year, accounting for about 44% of the total number of victims, according to data released by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics to mark the annual Palestinian Child’s Day on April 5.

According to statistics cited by Al Jazeera television, about four children die every hour because of the actions of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in the Gaza Strip. Women and minors account for at least 70% of the total number of missing persons, which has reached 7,000. As many as 117 children were killed and 724 injured in the West Bank, where Israeli forces regularly carry out operations accompanied by clashes.

More than 816,000 children in Palestine require the help of specialists “due to the consequences of the Israeli aggression, which led to psychological trauma, caused fear, anxiety, depression,” the report emphasizes.

The statistics bureau estimated that the number of minors in Palestine will reach 2,432,000 by mid-2024, representing 43% of the total population. Meanwhile, according to the census, some 43,349 children in the Gaza Strip are orphans or live without one parent. In 2020, the number of such children was 26,349.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants of the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian movement Hamas launched a surprise incursion into Israeli territory from Gaza, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel has declared a complete siege of the Gaza Strip and started a military operation there. The IDF is also striking parts of Lebanon and Syria in retaliation for attacks originating from these countries. Clashes are also taking place in the West Bank. (BSS/TASS)