United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a stark warning about the devastating impact of the ongoing conflict in Gaza on children. “Gaza has become a graveyard of innocent children,” Guterres lamented, highlighting the dire situation where hundreds of children are being killed or injured daily.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated following attacks by Hamas and Islamic Jihad on southern Israel on October 7, which led to approximately 1,400 Israeli casualties. In response, Israel launched intensive airstrikes on Gaza. The Palestinian Health Ministry reports that these bombings have resulted in the death of one child every 10 minutes in Gaza.
Tragically, the civilian population of Gaza is bearing the brunt of the violence, with nearly half of the buildings in the region either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable. According to the latest figures as of November 7, 2023, over 500,000 Palestinians in northern Gaza are trapped without essential resources like water, food, electricity, and fuel, as Israel tightens its siege. Meanwhile, approximately 50,000 pregnant women are caught in the conflict zone, with a significant number due to give birth soon.
In the most recent developments, 50,000 Palestinians fled southward from northern Gaza on November 8 alone, as the bombings intensified. The Gaza Strip, one of the most densely populated areas on Earth, has seen 70% of its 2.3 million inhabitants displaced from their homes since the conflict began.
The death toll is staggering. As of November 8, 2023, over 12,000 people have been killed since the war’s inception, including 10,569 Palestinians, mostly in Gaza, and 1,400 Israelis. In addition to the human cost, the infrastructure damage in Gaza is extensive, with the Israeli Army reportedly dropping over 25,000 tonnes of bombs on the region.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that 4,104 children have been killed in Gaza since the start of the conflict. The situation is equally grim in the West Bank, with 170 Palestinians and 43 children reportedly killed in violence and Israeli raids.
The conflict has also had a severe impact on healthcare in the region, with 73 healthcare workers killed in Gaza and 57 healthcare facilities attacked. The economic toll is equally devastating, with significant job losses reported in both Gaza and the West Bank.