More children killed in Gaza war than in 4 years of worldwide conflict: UN agency UNRWA
“This war is a war against children,” said the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees.
Geneva:
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said on Tuesday that more children have been reported killed in the ongoing war in Gaza than in the four-year conflict worldwide.
Philip Lazzarini, former
shocking. The number of children killed in just 4 months has been reported #Gaza This is more than the total number of children killed in 4 years of wars worldwide.
This war is a war on children. It is a war on their childhood and their future.#Ceasefire For… pic.twitter.com/tYwSNHecpy
– Philip Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) 12 March 2024
His post cited UN data showing that 12,193 children were killed in conflicts worldwide between 2019 and 2022.
This compared with health ministry reports in Hamas-run Gaza that more than 12,300 children died in the Palestinian territory between last October and the end of February.
“This war is a war on children. This is a war on their childhood and their future,” Lazzarini said.
The brutal war began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, resulting in some 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to AFP calculations based on Israeli official figures.
The militants also took about 250 people hostage, dozens of whom were released during a week-long ceasefire in November. Israel believes there are about 130 detainees left in Gaza, including 32 who are presumed dead.
Israeli retaliatory bombardments and ground attacks have killed 31,184 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory’s health ministry.
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