Israeli airstrikes on Gaza kill, injure more than 400 children daily: UNICEF

Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip kill or injure more than 400 children every day, UNICEF said in a statement on Tuesday.

At least 2,360 children have been killed, and 5,364 others have been injured following relentless Israeli bombardment on the besieged enclave, according to the UN organization.

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The 18-day period has been the deadliest escalation of hostilities in the Gaza Strip and Israel that the UN has witnessed since 2006.

Violence escalated following a Hamas incursion into southern Israel on October 7 that left at least 1,400 people dead. More than 200 people are said to have been taken hostage by the militant group.

Israel has vowed “total destruction” in Gaza to wipe out Hamas militants, but international rights organizations have warned that the ongoing bombardment has led to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.

Almost every child – roughly 50 percent of the population – in the Gaza Strip has been exposed to deeply distressing events and trauma, marked by widespread destruction, relentless attacks, displacement, and severe shortages of essential necessities such as food, water, and medicine, according to UNICEF.

“The killing and maiming of children, abduction of children, attacks on hospitals and schools, and the denial of humanitarian access constitute grave violations of children’s rights,” said Adele Khodr, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The footage of children being rescued from beneath the rubble, injured and in distress, while trembling in hospitals as they await treatment, portrays the immense horror these children are enduring. But without humanitarian access, the deaths from attacks could be the tip of the iceberg,” said Khodr.

“The death toll will increase exponentially if incubators start to fail, if hospitals go dark, if children continue to drink unsafe water and have no access to medicine when they get sick.”

Moreover, the entire population of the Gaza Strip, comprising nearly 2.3 million people, is facing a dire and pressing lack of water, which poses grave consequences for children, UNICEF said.

According to the UN agency, the majority of water systems have been severely impacted or rendered non-operational due to a combination of factors, including fuel shortages and damage to vital production, treatment, and distribution infrastructure.

Currently, the water production capacity is a mere five per cent of its usual daily output.

“UNICEF urgently appeals on all parties to agree to a ceasefire, allow humanitarian access and release all hostages. Even wars have rules. Civilians must be protected – children particularly – and all efforts must be made to spare them in all circumstances.”

Fuel is of paramount importance for the operation of essential facilities such as hospitals, desalination plants, and water pumping stations, UNICEF said in its statement.

Neonatal intensive care units house over 100 newborns, some of whom are in incubators and rely on mechanical ventilation, making an uninterrupted power supply a matter of life and death.

However, despite appeals, Israel has continued to prohibit the delivery of fuel into Gaza with the Israeli military even suggesting on Tuesday that the United Nations ask Hamas for fuel supplies when the agency warned it would have to halt operations soon if no fuel was delivered.

More than half of primary health care facilities, and roughly one of every three hospitals, have stopped functioning, the World Health Organization said.

Overwhelmed hospital staff are struggling to handle cases as constant waves of wounded continue to be brought in, The Associated Press reported.

The Health Ministry said many wounded are laid on the ground without even basic medical intervention and others wait for days for surgeries because there are so many critical cases.

“The situation in the Gaza Strip is a growing stain on our collective conscience. The rate of death and injuries of children simply staggering,” said Khodr.

“Even more frightening is the fact that unless tensions are eased, and unless humanitarian aid is allowed, including food, water, medical supplies and fuel, the daily death toll will continue to rise.”

The West Bank has also witnessed an alarming surge in casualties, with nearly a hundred Palestinians reportedly losing their lives, including 28 children, and at least 160 children reportedly sustaining injuries, UNICEF reported.

Even before October 7, children in the West Bank were already grappling with the highest levels of conflict-related violence in two decades, resulting in the loss of 41 Palestinian children, the statement added.

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