Israel violence against Palestinian children increased after 7 October, UN told
The UK-based Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) has submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) on the “increasing Israeli violence against Palestinian children since October 7, 2023.”
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The PRC warned that, since 7 October, “Palestinian children have not only been denied these fundamental human rights, but have also been the sole target of the Israeli government’s onslaught of Gaza, in direct violation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.”
The report stated that schools and children’s hospital departments, as well as children searching for water or food in residential neighbourhoods, were targeted by Israeli air strikes and live ammunition.
“At the time of writing, over 12,000+ Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7th alone, with thousands more becoming amputees and succumbing life altering injuries”, a statement issued by PRC said.
“Palestinian children of all ages are exposed to attacks by Israeli forces in Gaza. Palestinian schools were forced to end their academic year early due to acts of violence, and almost all schools in the Strip have become shelters for women and children whose homes had been destroyed by Israeli air strikes.”
According to the PRC, the Israeli violence against Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank has significantly increased since 7 October, “where children who had been killed in the last three months, amounted to more than double the number of children killed [globally as a result of war] in the entire year of 2022.”
In addition to this, PRC explained, “Approximately over 200 children have been arrested since October 7th as part of punitive collective detention campaigns. These detained children are subjected to various forms of psychological and physical torture, without respecting the necessary child protection measures.”
“Intentionally targeting and causing harm to civilians constitutes a war crime, and international humanitarian law places a definite responsibility on all sides in a conflict to safeguard the lives of civilians who are impacted by the ongoing hostilities,” it added, calling on the international community to act to save the children of Palestine.
