We are in the midst of another terrifying Israeli onslaught on Gaza. Once again, children are on the frontline. To date, of those killed in Gaza (212), more than a quarter (61) are children, with more than 1,500 people wounded. Ten people in Israel have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza, including two children.
Seven years ago, Israel’s 50-day bombardment of Gaza by land, air and sea, dubbed Operation Protective Edge, resulted in 2,202 deaths, 526 of whom were children and 257 women, according to Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem. The 72 Israeli fatalities included 62 soldiers and six civilians, including a four-year-old child.
After the 2014 onslaught, UNICEF suggested that 373,000 Palestinian children need “immediate psycho-social first aid” to manage the stress, trauma and anxiety resulting from the brutalising and close-hand impact of war.
UNICEF’s Gaza head Pernilla Ironside spoke at the time about the toll the war had taken on children: “The impact has truly been vast, both at a very physical level, in terms of casualties, injuries, the infrastructure that's been damaged, but also importantly, emotionally and psychologically in terms of the destabilising impact that not knowing, not truly feeling like there is anywhere safe to go in Gaza.”
The current onslaught in Gaza is repeating many of the human rights abuses and war crimes that characterised the previous war. In 2014, the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor documented 144 incidents in Gaza in which two or more members of the same family were killed by Israeli forces. This year, the NGO has already reported that 27 families have been targeted since the beginning of hostilities on 10 May.
Euro-Med Monitor considers Israel to be in contravention of Articles 53 and 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 25 of the Hague Regulations. These prohibit the unjustified destruction of properties. In 2014 in Gaza, according to the UN, 18,000 housing units were partially or completely destroyed and 73 medical facilities damaged, with 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Since the start of Israel’s current Operation Guardian of the Walls, more than 38,000 IDPs have sought protection in 48 schools run by the UN.
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