UN: Israel killed over 13,000 Palestinian children, wounded 25,000 others in Gaza

More than 13,000 children were killed, and an estimated 25,000 were injured, during Israel’s bombing of the besieged Gaza Strip since October 2023, UN agencies have said. They added that at least 19,000 children were hospitalised for malnutrition.

“Gaza has become the deadliest place in the world to be a child. The children of Gaza did not choose this war, yet they have paid the ultimate price,” Britain’s Deputy UN Ambassador, James Kariuki, told the Security Council.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported on Thursday that of the 40,717 Palestinian bodies identified so far in Gaza, one third – 13,319 – were children, according to figures issued by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza.

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However, the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, said the estimate of 25,000 children injured came from its analysis based on information collected together with the Health Ministry.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said nearly 19,000 children had been hospitalised for acute malnutrition in the four months before December.

The UN noted that thousands of children had also been orphaned or separated from their parents during the 15-month war.

Yasmine Sherif, executive director of the UN global fund Education Cannot Wait, told a press conference that 650,000 school-age children haven’t been attending classes and the entire education system has to be rebuilt because of the widespread destruction in Gaza.

More than 47,000 Palestinians were killed during Israel’s bombing campaign in Gaza from October 2023 until a ​​ceasefire went into effect on 19 January.

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