It’s worse than we thought. Israel has left 36,000 children killed or missing in Gaza

On top of the more than 15,000 children Israel has killed since 7 October, up to another 21,000 are missing, according to Save the Children.

As a result of Israel’s ongoing onslaught, many are trapped beneath the rubble, lost, detained by Israel or buried in unmarked graves. As of 1 May, Israel held 61 children in administrative detention, where Israel can detain them indefinitely without charge or trial.

The UN has placed Israel on a blacklist of countries and organisations that engage “in violations against children”.

“Stop the genocide”

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who’s running as an independent in Islington North, said:

Up to 21,000 Palestinian children are missing in the Gaza Strip, including 4,000 who are likely buried under the rubble. What utter inhumanity. Stop the genocide in Gaza.

Israel is also starving the Gazan children who it hasn’t killed or caused to be missing. Earlier in June, UNICEF found that nine out of ten children in Gaza are experiencing “severe child food poverty, surviving on diets comprising two or fewer food groups per day – one of the highest percentages ever recorded”. That’s because of Israeli blockades preventing supplies from entering Gaza.

Of the 21,000 children missing, estimations are that 17,000 are separated from their parents amid Israel’s bombardment and 4,000 are under the debris.

“No safe place in Gaza”

A Save the Children Child protection specialist in Gaza said:

Every day we find more unaccompanied children and every day it is harder to support them. We work through partners to identify separated and unaccompanied children and trace their families, but there are no safe facilities for them – there is no safe place in Gaza.

Besides, reuniting them with family members is difficult when ongoing hostilities restrict our access to communities, and constantly force families to move.

According to the UN, Israel has orphaned 17,000 Palestinian children since 7 October. The classification “wounded child, no surviving family” is widespread in hospitals. James Elder, UNICEF’s chief spokesperson, has said:

When we speak of a war on children, it’s not to try to be dramatic. It’s rooted in the data…That speaks obviously to the severity and the intensity of the bombardment. We believe it also speaks to the indiscriminate nature of the bombardment, and it speaks to a disregard for civilians, particularly children.

Israel has also covered up some of its killing with mass graves that include children. According to the UN, many of the bodies uncovered showed signs of torture, summary executions or even being burnt alive.

Israel’s abuse of Palestinian children didn’t begin with the ongoing genocide. As of July 2023, 86% of children Israel militarily detained faced beatings. Others experience sexual violence or Israel transferring them in small cages.

Children are not terrorists. The number of children Israel has killed is one of the clear signs this is a genocide. It must end.

Featured image via Channel 4 News – YouTube