A terrible toll.
More children have been killed in the Gaza Strip in four months of war with Israel than in four years of conflicts across the world, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) assured Tuesday ).
" Dizzy.
The number of children allegedly killed in just four months in Gaza is higher than the number of children killed in four years in all conflicts around the world,” wrote Philippe Lazzarini on X, denouncing a “war against children.”
Staggering.
The number of children reported killed in just over 4 months in #Gaza is higher than the number of children killed in 4 years of wars around the world combined.
This war is a war on children.
It is a war on their childhood and their future.#ceasefireNow for the… pic.twitter.com/tYwSNHecpy
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) March 12, 2024
His message refers to United Nations figures that 12,193 children were killed in conflicts around the world between 2019 and 2022.
“A war against children”
He compared these figures to reports from the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip indicating that more than 12,300 children died in the Palestinian territory between October and the end of February.
“This war is a war against children.
It’s a war against their childhood and their future,” declared Philippe Lazzarini.
This war began with the unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7, which left around 1,160 dead in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took around 250 hostages, dozens of whom were freed during a week-long truce in November.
Israel estimates there are around 130 captives remaining in Gaza, 32 of whom are presumed dead.
Retaliatory bombings and Israel's ground offensive have killed 31,184 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the territory's health ministry.