As the Israeli genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon intensifies, the tragedy of children becomes one facet of this ongoing catastrophe.
Children suffer greatly in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and even Lebanon as a result of a war that has nothing to do with them. The Israeli occupation targets them either directly or indirectly, transforming their innocence into a tragedy and adding to their own and their families’ suffering.
West Bank: An unprecedented escalation against children
The targeting of Palestinian children has escalated to an unprecedented level in the occupied West Bank, with 171 children killed since October 7, 2023—one every two days—and over 1,000 others wounded.
The Israeli occupation uses excessive force and live ammunition to kill children during violent military operations, claiming that the children are “participating in riots.”
The British newspaper The Guardian recently reported on heartbreaking tales of children’s suffering in the West Bank. One such story was that of 12-year-old football fan Mohammed Hoshiya, who was shot dead while attempting to return home, illustrating the brutality of the occupation.
Ghassan Zahran, 14, was shot while playing with his friends, and similar scenes were repeated with him.
According to the newspaper, these kids died in terrible circumstances, and paramedics are frequently unable to get to them.
Gaza Strip: An ongoing hell for children
During the more than one-year-old Israeli war of extermination in the Gaza Strip, children have become a constant target.
According to UN reports, women and children make up almost 70% of the dead, and children in Gaza are subjected to direct air and ground targeting, which has a profound psychological and physical impact.
During the course of 14 months, over 40 children are killed every day due to the oppressive siege and harsh living conditions, leaving children who should be able to grow up safely in the wreckage of their homes or schools.
Lebanon: 3 children killed every day
Lebanese children were also impacted by the Israeli aggression’s escalation, in addition to Palestinian children. Over 200 children were killed in two months, which is more than three children every day.
Lebanese children, like those in Gaza, are treated with international indifference “amidst a silent normalization of terror,” as UNICEF reports put it, revealing a horrifying lack of concern for these crimes by the international community.
Investigations into the murder of Palestinian children are rarely launched, demonstrating the Israeli occupation’s disregard for international accountability. The only Israeli soldier convicted of killing a Palestinian child in the last ten years was imprisoned for only a few months.
Targeting Palestinian and Lebanese children is a persistent crime that goes unpunished by the UN and other international organizations. This is because there are no guarantees that children’s rights will be protected in conflict areas, and there is international complicity that ignores these heinous abuses. The ruthless occupation of Palestinian children in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon continues, and the tragedy is made worse by the international silence that surrounds it.
