More Children Killed in Gaza in Three Weeks Than in Wars Worldwide Since 2019

According to a report from the global non-profit organization for children’s rights, Save the Children, more children were killed in Gaza in three weeks than in all the wars worldwide since 2019.

The impact on people of the Palestinian-Israeli issue’s intensification has been disastrous. Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, called for the safety of civilians during his remarks on the crisis earlier this month. “If men decide to fight amongst themselves, let them do it. However, Putin emphasized, “Leave women and children alone.”

Over the last three weeks, the number of children killed in Gaza has surpassed the number of children killed in conflicts worldwide in any one year since 2019.

That’s based on a report from the global non-profit organization for children’s rights, Save the Children, which has its headquarters in London.

Based on information from the Israeli and Gazan health ministries, the charity’s calculations indicate that 3,195 children have reportedly died in Gaza since the escalation on October 7, with a further 33 children dying in the West Bank and 29 in Israel, for a total of 3,257 deaths.

According to the charity, that is the largest number of children murdered in an armed conflict since 2019 and significantly greater than the number of children killed in any other conflict in almost 20 countries in 2023.

According to the yearly reports released by the United Nations Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, the prolonged Palestinian-Israeli conflict has had a particularly detrimental impact on the world’s youngest population.

In contrast, 2,515 in 2021, 2,985 in 2022, and 2,674 in 2020 were all lost in combat. 4,019 documented child deaths occurred in 2019, primarily as a result of ongoing wars and insurgencies in Palestine, the Philippines, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, Somalia, Mali, the Central African Republic, and South Sudan. Injuries and fatalities from urban fighting, suicide bombers, airstrikes, mines, IEDs, and planned militant attacks on hospitals and schools resulted in 6,154 children being hurt that year.

Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Kahri has threatened to destroy Elon Musk’s Starlink after Musk announced that he would grant access to “internationally recognized aid organizations” operating in Gaza.

In addition to the deaths, throughout the last three weeks, 6,360 youngsters in Gaza, 180 in the West Bank, and 74 in Israel have all suffered injuries. According to Israeli media estimates, up to thirty youngsters are still being held captive by Hamas fighters.

Children are thought to account for more than 40% of the 7,700+ fatalities in Gaza to date and roughly 3% of the 1,033 fatalities documented in Israel since hostilities began this month.

“One child’s death is one too many, but these are grave violations of epic proportions,” Save the Children Palestine director Jason Lee said in a statement of the Gaza fatalities. “A ceasefire is the only way to ensure their safety. The international community must put people before politics – every day spent debating is leaving children killed and injured. Children must be protected at all times, especially when they are seeking safety in schools and hospitals.”

The entire “situation for children” in Gaza is “horrific,” according to UNICEF spokesman Toby Fricker, who also described the scope of the humanitarian disaster as “staggering.”

Attempts to adopt a quick ceasefire at the UN Security Council and in the General Assembly, which are backed by Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Turkiye, Iran, Indonesia, and other states, have been rejected by Israel and the US. At the UNGA last Friday, 120 nations voted in support of an immediate stop to combat and the flow of humanitarian relief to Gaza; 14 nations, including the US, Israel, Austria, Croatia, and the Czech Republic, rejected the resolution, while 45 countries abstained.