'Every child was a dream': Israel killed over 18,500 children in Gaza since October 2023

The Israeli army has killed 18,592 Palestinian children in Gaza since October 2023, according to official data from Gaza’s Health Ministry.

The ministry’s records showed that many of the victims were killed in their earliest days of life.

Some died just hours after birth, struck by Israeli air strikes or bombs.

Figures released by the ministry showed that the victims included nine babies killed on the day of their birth, five killed on the first day, five on the second day, and eight on their third day.

The ministry explained that the killed children also included 88 aged one month, 90 aged two months, and 78 aged three months.

The Israeli army has pursued a brutal offensive on Gaza since October 7, 2023, killing over 60,200 Palestinians.

Israel has imposed a blockade on Gaza for 18 years and, since March 2, has shut down all crossings, blocking the entry of humanitarian aid and worsening conditions for the territory’s 2.4 million population.

Muneer Alboursh, Director General of the Gaza Health Ministry, said the total number of Palestinian deaths in Gaza due to Israeli-enforced mass starvation since October 2023 has risen to 159, including 90 children.

“They did not die suddenly. They withered, day after day, under a blockade that denies food and medicine, and amid global silence that equates the oppressor with the victim,” Alboursh said.

“Every number is a name. Every child was a dream. Every martyr just needed a meal or milk, or care.”

On Monday, Israeli rights groups B’Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing the systematic destruction of Palestinian society and the deliberate dismantling of the territory’s healthcare system.

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Source: TRT