Gaza, MINA – More than 50,000 Palestinian children have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which has labeled the crisis part of an ongoing genocide by the Israeli occupation army, Anadolu Agency reported.
The report comes as Gaza’s Ministry of Health reveals a near-total collapse of the enclave’s healthcare infrastructure after 600 days of relentless war.
UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, emphasized the devastating toll the conflict continues to take on children.
“Last week, videos showed the burned and dismembered bodies of children from the al-Najjar family being pulled from the rubble of their home in Khan Yunis. Of ten siblings under the age of 12, only one is reported to have survived with serious injuries,” Beigbeder stated.
Also Read: Two Israeli Soldiers Sentenced for Refusing to Join Gaza War
Another recent attack, he noted, killed at least 31 people, including 18 children, when Israeli forces bombed a school sheltering civilians in Gaza City.
Since the end of the temporary ceasefire on March 18, UNICEF has documented the deaths of at least 1,309 children and injuries to 3,738 more. Beigbeder stressed that these children are not just statistics, but victims of grave violations: killed, displaced, starved, and cut off from access to hospitals, schools, and clean water. He called the situation “the destruction of life itself.”
UNICEF urged all parties to immediately halt violence, ensure unrestricted humanitarian access, release Israeli hostages, and adhere to international law. Above all, the organization called for an immediate ceasefire to save Gaza’s remaining children.
Simultaneously, Gaza’s Ministry of Health issued a dire update on the Strip’s collapsing healthcare system. Only 16 of Gaza’s 38 hospitals are still functioning, with 47% of essential medicines and 65% of medical consumables now unavailable. Just 30 out of 105 primary care centers remain operational, and hospital bed occupancy has surged beyond 106%.
Also Read: 11,000 Cancer Patients in Gaza Deprived of Treatment by Israeli Blockade
Out of 104 operating rooms, only 50 remain functional under what officials describe as catastrophic conditions. Diagnostic capacity has been decimated: 12 of 19 CT scanners and all MRI machines have been destroyed. Oxygen infrastructure is virtually gone, with only nine of 34 stations partially working. []
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
Also Read: Israel Approves 22 New Settlements in Occupied West Bank
Mina Indonesia
Mina Arabic
Mina Sport