GAZA, Sunday, August 18, 2024 (WAFA) -- Barely a day passes without reports of children being killed alongside their families and relatives in Gaza, since the onset of the Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023.
For the 11th consecutive month of this genocidal war, the number of children killed by the Israeli assault has risen to 16,456, with thousands more injured, according to medical data.
The crimes of the occupation have not stopped there; its control over the Rafah border crossing with Egypt has prevented the injured from receiving treatment abroad, worsening the humanitarian crisis and leading to the deaths of over a thousand children. This has added another layer of suffering to their ongoing tragedy.
On May 6, 2024, the Israeli military announced the start of a ground offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza. Ignoring international warnings about the impact on the displaced populations overwhelming the city, the military took control of the Rafah crossing the following day and tightened its siege on Gaza from all sides.
Children without childhood
Children in Gaza are not only facing death and injury but are also enduring the hell of fear and terror from intense airstrikes, constant displacement, and diseases resulting from overcrowding in inadequate refugee shelters.
UNICEF has warned that "many children in Gaza are no longer able to sleep or enjoy their childhood due to the horrors they have witnessed as a result of the Israeli war," expressing concern about their future if the war continues.
Salim Oweis, UNICEF's Media Officer for the Middle East and North Africa, has called on the international community to intervene to stop the war and restore the future of Gaza's children.
Oweis stated in an interview with Anadolu Agency that "children in Gaza are not living their childhood."
He added that "skin diseases, respiratory infections, and diarrhea have become common among Gaza's children."
He noted that "it is extremely difficult for children to live in tents during a scorching summer with temperatures reaching 35 degrees Celsius, which increases by 5 to 10 degrees inside the tents."
He continued, "Many children in Gaza are deprived of sleep because they are constantly thinking about the horrors they have seen and are afraid due to the ongoing war."
The UN official stressed that "there are many things the international community must do for Gaza's children."
Thousands of orphans
In hospital reception areas and beneath the rubble of destroyed homes, journalists and activists capture images of dead and injured children, their bodies stained with blood or dismembered, tearing at the hearts of those who view them.
The occupation shows no concern for the deaths of children, continuing its attacks across all areas of the Gaza Strip and disregarding all international laws and norms.
Children in Gaza are living in catastrophic conditions, lacking basic essentials and facing homelessness due to repeated displacement, along with severe shortages of medicine, food, and water, exposing them to serious health risks.
In July, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) stated that children "are paying the highest price in the Gaza war, amid displacement and fear of losing their childhood."
Despite the international community's warnings, the occupation continues its genocidal campaign, ignoring the United Nations Security Council's call for an immediate ceasefire and International Court of Justice orders to take measures to prevent genocide and improve the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza.
M.N
