Amman, May 28 (Petra) – The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday that more than 50,000 Palestinian children were killed or injured in the Gaza Strip in the ongoing Israeli war, which began on October 7, 2023.

UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, said images from two horrific Israeli attacks in recent days are a further witness to the heavy cost of the vicious war on children, according to the organization's website.

On Friday, the world watched videos of burned and dismembered bodies of children from Al-Najjar family being pulled from the rubble of their home in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

"Of the 10 siblings under the age of 12, only one child, who was seriously injured, reportedly survived," he said.

"Early Monday morning, we saw images of a little girl trapped inside a burning school in Gaza City in an attack that reportedly killed at least 31 people, including 18 children," he said.

UNICEF said that since Israel ended a ceasefire on March 18, 1,309 children have been killed and another 3,738 injured. In total, more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured since October 2023, it added.

UNICEF urged parties to the conflict to end the violence, protect civilians, including children, respect international humanitarian and human rights laws, allow the immediate access of humanitarian supplies and release all hostages.

Over the course of nearly 20 months of genocide in Gaza, the occupation forces targeted dozens of shelters, including schools, universities, hospital grounds, and areas designated as safe by the Israeli military, leaving thousands of Palestinians, many of of them children and women, killed or injured, according to official data.

//Petra//SS

28/05/2025 15:18:07