5 children are killed every hour in Gaza

Following the comprehensive attack launched by the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, on the morning of October 7 under the name "Al-Aqsa Flood," Israel's attacks on Gaza continue. Half of Gaza's 2.3 million population consists of children, and the number of children killed in Gaza in the first 3 weeks exceeded the average number of children killed worldwide in the last 3 years. According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, more than 40 percent of the 7,028 Palestinians killed in the ongoing conflicts since October 7 are children.

According to data from the UK-based non-governmental organization Save the Children, which cites Hamas-controlled health authorities, more than 3,000 children have been killed in Palestine in 3 weeks.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, Israel has killed 9,061 Palestinians in its attacks, including 3,760 children and 2,326 women, while injuring at least 32,000 people. In this context, 5 children are being killed every hour in Gaza.

Save the Children announced that the number of children killed in Palestine in the last 3 weeks is higher than the number of children killed in a single year in conflicts worldwide in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Children accounted for 2,913 of the 7,028 people killed in the conflicts in Palestine

In the UN Secretary-General's reports titled "Children and Armed Conflict," it was stated that 2,985 children were killed in 24 countries experiencing conflict in 2022, 2,515 in 2021, and 2,674 in 22 countries in 2020. While no information was provided regarding the number of countries in the 2019 report, it was recorded that 4,019 children were killed in conflicts worldwide.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health published a 212-page report containing the names, identification information, and ages of those who died in the attacks carried out by Israel on Gaza between October 7 and 26. Accordingly, children account for 2,913 of the 7,028 people killed in Palestine.

In Israel's attacks, 133 babies who had not yet turned 1 year old and a total of 444 babies under the age of 3 lost their lives.

In Israel's bombardments, 171 three-year-olds, 1,527 primary school-aged children (4-13 years old), and 523 high school-aged children (14-17 years old) also lost their lives.

A large portion of the wounded are also children

The WHO announced that a significant portion of the 18,482 people injured in Palestine since October 7 are also children.

In a report by CNN citing Israeli officials, it was stated that more than 1,400 Israelis have lost their lives since October 7, 30 of whom were children.

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

UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder stated that they are concerned about the child deaths in Gaza under intense Israeli attacks and that Gaza is turning into a graveyard for children.

Emphasizing that children in Gaza have been negatively affected by the conflicts continuing since October 7, Elder used the expression, "We are concerned about the rising child deaths in Gaza. Gaza is turning into a graveyard for children."

Reiterating UNICEF's call for an immediate ceasefire for the conflicts and the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, Elder said, "Children in Gaza are not only dying because of the bombardments; they are also dying because of the lack of medical care they need."

Child deaths in Ukraine

On the other hand, thousands of children have been unable to return to their homes in the Kharkiv region, where heavy fighting has taken place and many settlements have been razed to the ground since the first day of the Russia-Ukraine War.

According to data from the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), Ukraine has more than 6 million citizens under the age of 18. More than 1 million of these are recorded as being "under 5 years old."

In data published by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), it was stated that 544 of the 9,614 people who lost their lives in the Russia-Ukraine War, which broke out on February 24, 2022, up until September 10, 2023, were children. It was reported that children accounted for 1,180 of the 17,535 people injured in the war.

According to July data from Save the Children, an average of 3 children are killed or injured every day in the Russia-Ukraine War.

In data published by Ukraine in June, information was shared that 19,501 children were forcibly taken to Russia during the war.

News Source: AA