14-3-2024 (GENEVA) The head of the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees has decried the staggering loss of young lives in the ongoing Gaza conflict, surpassing the combined child casualties from wars worldwide over a four-year period. Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), took to the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to voice his grave concerns.
“The number of children reported killed in just over four months in Gaza is higher than the number of children killed in four years of wars around the world combined,” Lazzarini lamented, citing United Nations data indicating that 12,193 children had perished in global conflicts between 2019 and 2022.
In a grim contrast, reports from the health ministry in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip suggest that more than 12,300 children have lost their lives in the Palestinian territory between October of the previous year and the end of February.
“This war is a war on children. It is a war on their childhood and their future,” the UNRWA chief emphasized, underscoring the devastating toll on the most vulnerable members of society.
The current crisis in Gaza erupted on October 7th with an unprecedented Hamas attack that claimed approximately 1,160 Israeli lives, predominantly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. The militant group also took around 250 hostages, dozens of whom were released during a week-long truce in November. Israeli authorities believe that around 130 captives remain in Gaza, including 32 presumed deceased.
In retaliation, Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive in the densely populated coastal enclave have resulted in the deaths of 31,184 Palestinians, predominantly women and children, as reported by the Gaza health ministry.
