GAZA, April 5, 2025 (WAFA) – An international rights expert stated today that international laws and agreements designed to protect children have become meaningless in the face of ongoing crimes and violations committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian children, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Saturday, Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Director of the Accountability Program at Defense for Children International, said, "This year's Palestinian Children's Day comes amid unprecedented crimes and violations against Palestinian children. Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023, the occupation has killed around 200 children in the West Bank, in addition to the crimes committed against children imprisoned in Israeli detention centers."

He added that these violations have affected every right of children recognized in international agreements, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which should provide care and protection for children in conflict zones or under military occupation.

Abu Eqtaish emphasized, "In Gaza, there is no right left for children that hasn’t been stripped away, whether it is the right to life, education, health, or others."

He concluded that "international laws and agreements concerning the protection of children have become nothing but ink on paper, given the ongoing Israeli crimes against Palestinian children, especially in Gaza."

Abu Eqtaish further pointed out that "these crimes occur in full view of the world, with no intervention to protect, turning international laws into mere words in the face of Israel’s criminal machine."

M.N