Radio Cadena Agramonte emisiora de Camagüey
Ramallah, May 23 – More than 16,500 Palestinian children have died in the Gaza Strip as a result of the war unleashed by Israel since October 7, 2023, an official source in the territory reported today.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said in a statement that the figure “reflects the direct and systematic attack on the most vulnerable and innocent segments of society.”
The agency specified that of the total, 916 were under one year old, 4,365 were between one and five years old, 6,101 were between six and 12 years old, and 5,124 were between 13 and 17 years old.
Such numbers not only reflect the innocent lives lost, but also the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe and the depth of the crime committed against an entire generation that was supposed to be protected, cared for, and educated, it emphasized.
The Ministry emphasized that, on the contrary, they became "targets for aircraft missiles and tank shells."
In view of this situation, it urged the international community and human rights bodies to assume their legal and moral responsibilities.
The world must take urgent measures to stop the aggression and hold Israeli leaders accountable for their crimes against children and defenseless civilians, it emphasized.
Gaza Ministry of Social Development spokesperson Aziza al-Kahlout revealed earlier this month that the military campaign against the coastal enclave left some 40,000 Palestinian orphans.
Al-Kahlout specified that 700 minors were left completely alone after the complete extermination of their families.
They face social, psychological, economic, and health damage, which could lead to mass deaths at some point if the situation continues to deteriorate, she warned.
Recently, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson Tess Ingram warned that one million children in the Gaza Strip are suffering psychological trauma as a result of the attacks.
The living conditions of the families there are dangerous; they need clean water, all kinds of aid, and blankets, she stressed in an interview with Al Jazeera television.
For its part, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics stated that nearly one million children are threatened by hunger in the area, where more than 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition have been reported. (Text and photo: PL)
