One Child Killed Every 15 Minutes Due to Israel-Hamas War
- Mondoweiss
Gaza – According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza on October 16, a total of 2,750 Palestinians were killed and more than 9,000 wounded. Gaza has entered the tenth day of the conflict, and the situation is getting worse.
More than 1,000 children have reportedly lost their lives according to Defense for Children Palestine. The true scale of the crisis is difficult to determine, with estimates of an even greater number of casualties.
Global organization Save the Children on Tuesday demanded an "immediate ceasefire", amid the dire humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and warned that the number of casualties will rise as water supplies become depleted.
They said that by their count, a Palestinian child is killed every 15 minutes.
"More than 1,000 children have reportedly been killed in 11 days of airstrikes on Gaza – one child every 15 minutes – with children making up a third of total fatalities in Gaza," the UK-based charity said in the statement.
Regarding the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza which is under "total siege," it stated a warning Monday by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinians in the Near East about clean water.
"People – particularly young children - will soon start dying of dehydration," UNRWA informed.
"Water is running out and time is running out for the children of Gaza. Without an end to fighting – without a ceasefire – thousands of children’s lives hang in the balance," said Jason Lee, director of the Save the Children's Palestine office.
About reports that said the Israeli government resumed water supplies Sunday to southern Gaza, the NGO, however, said power-dependent water pumps have not been working for four days with no electricity in the Gaza Strip.
"This morning, the UN warned that all hospitals in Gaza are believed to have only about 48 hours of fuel left to operate backup generators, putting thousands of patients, including children, at immediate risk," it added.
Israel's bombardment and blockade of the Gaza Strip continued 11 days into the conflict with the Hamas group, with more than 1 million people displaced, almost half of Gaza's population, according to UNRWA.
More than 4,400 people have been killed in the armed conflict, including at least 3,001 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis.