UK Charity: At Least 2k Children Killed in Gaza

By Staff, Agencies

At least 2,000 children have died in the “Israeli” bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip over the past 17 days, UK-based aid group Save the Children has said.

The charity cited figures from the Health Ministry in Gaza, which stated on Monday that at least 5,087 people have been martyred in th “Israeli” entity’s siege of the strip, including at least 2,055 children.

“Thousands of homes, and dozens of playgrounds, schools, hospitals, churches and mosques have been damaged or destroyed in Gaza,” Save the Children said. “At least 4,600 children [have been] injured as reported by the [Gaza] Ministry of Health – some with excruciating burns, lost limbs and other horrific blast injuries.”

It said that “Israeli” airstrikes are “killing and injuring children indiscriminately”.

The “Israeli” entity has launched an unprecedented bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas began Operation al-Aqsa Flood on October 7. About 1,400 “Israeli” settlers died in the attack, during which Hamas fighters also seized 250 hostages.

On Monday, Hamas released two elderly female “Israeli” hostages held in Gaza.

“With the death toll climbing, children are at risk and terrified,” Save the Children’s Jason Lee said in a statement. “Children have been killed and injured in every major escalation, not to mention suffering from serious longer term mental health impacts. They’ve never emerged unscathed.”

Lee added that a ceasefire must be agreed immediately, insisting that “the only way to truly protect children’s lives is to halt this violence.”

Elsewhere in its statement, Save the Children warned of further humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, saying that over 1 million children are “trapped in the middle of the active conflict zone” with no safe route out. Many lack access to medication and adequate care after the "Israeli" entity shut off electricity that powered vital healthcare infrastructure, the agency added.