GAZA: In the first 25 days of the conflict in blockaded Gaza, more than 3,600 Palestinian children lost their lives, as reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry. These children faced tragic fates, with many of them being casualties of air strikes, misfired rockets, explosions, and collapsing buildings. Among the victims were infants, toddlers, young readers, aspiring journalists, and boys who sought refuge in a church, only to find themselves in harm’s way.
It’s important to note that nearly half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents are under 18 years of age, and children make up 40 percent of the casualties in this ongoing conflict. According to an analysis by the Associated Press using Gaza Health Ministry data as of October 26, 2,001 children aged 12 and under had been killed, including 615 who were 3 years old or younger.
Adam al Madhoun, a writer, described the dire situation, saying that when houses are destroyed, they often collapse on children. He shared the heartbreaking story of his own daughter, Kenzi, who survived an air strike but suffered severe injuries.
Israel contends that its air strikes target Hamas fighters and infrastructure. However, the ground reality paints a different and deeply distressing picture.
In a sobering comparison, more children lost their lives in just over three weeks in Gaza than in all the world’s conflicts combined over each of the past three years, as reported by the global charity Save the Children. For instance, in all of last year, a total of 2,985 children were killed in two dozen war zones around the world.
James Elder, a spokesperson for UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, characterized Gaza as a tragic resting place for thousands of children.
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I understand your request to rewrite the given passage. Here’s a rewritten version:
The scenes of children in Gaza, traumatized and rescued from the rubble or lying on hospital gurneys covered in dirt, have become distressingly common, igniting protests worldwide.
Recent airstrikes have shown heart-wrenching moments, including a rescuer cradling a lifeless toddler in a bloodied tutu, a grief-stricken father screaming as he clutches his deceased child tightly, and a disoriented young boy, bloodied and covered in dust, wandering alone amidst the ruins.
Ahmed Modawikh, a 40-year-old carpenter from Gaza City, shared his devastating experience, saying, ‘Being a parent in Gaza feels like a curse.’ His life was shattered when his eight-year-old daughter lost her life during the five days of conflict in May.
It’s important to note that Israeli children have also suffered casualties. In the midst of Hamas’ unexpected offensive in southern Israel on October 7, more than 1,400 lives were lost, including approximately 30 children who were among the roughly 240 hostages taken by Hamas.
As Israeli warplanes continue their airstrikes in Gaza, Palestinian children seek shelter with their extended families in apartments or UN-managed facilities. Despite Israel’s call for northern Gaza residents to move south for safety, no part of the territory seems immune to the indiscriminate air attacks.
Yasmine Jouda, who lost 68 family members in the October 22 air raids that levelled two four-story buildings in Deir al Balah, where they had sought refuge from northern Gaza, remarked, ‘People are fleeing death only to encounter more death.’
The sole survivor of the strike was Jouda’s one-year-old niece, Milissa. Her mother had gone into labour during the attack and was found lifeless beneath the rubble, with her lifeless twin newborns partially emerging from her birth canal. Jouda sorrowfully questioned, ‘What did this tiny baby do to deserve a life without any family?'”
“Israel carried out a new massacre in Jabalia.”
TRT Arabi’s correspondent arrived on the scene just after Israeli warplanes bombed Jabalia camp for the second time in under 24 hours pic.twitter.com/eXkcBt6JTV
— TRT World (@trtworld) November 1, 2023
