Gaza, the massacre of children: 21,000 killed in 1,000 days
After three years of war in Gaza, it is as if an entire city – larger than Urbino or similar in size to Isernia, but populated solely by children – had vanished
At least 21,000 children and young people killed in 1,000 days. In three years of war in Gaza, it is as if an entire city had vanished – larger than Urbino or similar in size to Isernia, but populated solely by children.
A figure which, as reported by Save the Children, could be much higher, “given the unknown number of people buried under the rubble”. Meanwhile, according to the Site Management Cluster, there are over 800,000 displaced children and adolescents. This is almost equivalent to the entire population of a city such as Naples. Almost 80 per cent of children in Gaza are therefore homeless, with 7,000 unaccompanied or separated from their families.
Furthermore, according to estimates, 245,000 under-18s are at risk of or suffering from malnutrition. Fresh fruit and eggs are among the most expensive nutritious foods for families in the Strip, whilst crisps and chocolate are ‘widely available’, as explained by the organisation. Food “lacking the dietary and nutritional variety necessary for children”.
And then there are 625,000 school-age children and teenagers who have missed out on three years of formal education. According to Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Ahmad Ahendawi, “every day, over the last thousand days, the world has turned its back on a million children in Gaza by failing to intervene to stop the killings and maimings”.
The organisation is therefore calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, for governments to immediately suspend arms transfers to Israel, and for full accountability to be ensured for crimes against children. Ahendawi points out, in fact, that since the ‘ceasefire’ was declared last October, ‘a further 275 children have been killed by Israeli forces’.
