At least 724 Palestinian children have died and 2,450 have been injured since the escalation of the conflict between Hamas and Israel on October 7, Unicef said Tuesday, which does not present figures for minor victims on the Israeli side.
According to a statement from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), since October 7, “serious large-scale violations” against children have been reported in Israel and the State of Palestine, including murders, mutilations and abductions, as well as attacks on civilian infrastructure and essential public services, such as schools or health facilities.
According to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has reached 3,000 and the number of injured has reached 12,500, and UNICEF indicates that at least 724 of the fatalities are children and 2,450 are injured.
Israeli sources report that at least 1,400 Israelis were killed and more than 3,800 injured, but UNICEF stresses that there is no disaggregated data on Israeli children killed and injured, even though initial reports point to “many casualties among children.” “.
According to Israel, at least 155 Israelis, including children, were captured and forcibly taken to the Gaza Strip.
The number of people displaced in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli offensive has reached one million people, according to the United Nations Palestinian Refugee Agency (UNRWA), warning that the besieged region remains without access to water.
In addition to Israel and the Gaza Strip, the situation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, “remains tense,” UNICEF said.
Since October 7, the day the Islamist group Hamas attacked Israel, at least 58 Palestinians, including 16 children, have been killed in various areas of the West Bank and the Ministry of Health reported that 1,200 Palestinians have been injured.
“Most checkpoints in the West Bank remained closed, further worsening restrictions on population movement,” the statement said.
With the situation on the ground worsening, UNICEF is also working with the Egypt office to prepare for the entry of vital goods for at least 150,000 people in case the border point between the Gaza Strip and Egypt opens.
Before this latest escalation of violence, children in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, were already significantly affected by conflict-related violence and one million children were in need of humanitarian assistance (almost half of the child population). .
In the Gaza Strip, mental health and psychosocial support needs were identified in more than 816,000 children, following six rounds of armed conflict since 2008, according to UNICEF.
The Islamist group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli territory on October 7, under the name of operation “Al-Aqsa Storm”, with the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen by land, sea and air.
In response to the surprise attack, Israel bombed several Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip from the air, in an operation it called “Iron Swords.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel is “at war” with Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.
Source: TSF
