More than 15,000 Palestinian children have been killed since October, when the Israeli regime launched its genocide against the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Ministry of Education says.
The majority of the children were school students and kindergarten kids, according to the ministry, which said on Tuesday that an additional 64 students from schools in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, also lost their lives during the period.
The ministry announced the fatalities in a statement on the International Day of Innocent Child Victims of Aggression, which highlighted “The Children of Gaza” as the primary focus, acknowledging their situation as the most affected individuals due to the continued latest aggression of Israel, which was launched on October 7 last year.
Since the commencement of the Israeli genocide in Gaza, it has been reported that 620,000 students have been unable to attend school, with an additional 88,000 students being deprived of higher education opportunities at the university level.
“Israel has destroyed schools and nurseries and targeted civilians, especially children, who have been forcibly displaced, detained or deprived from food and medical access,” the ministry said.
The independent organization, Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, which works for the protection of human rights, said on Monday that in Israel’s ongoing military assault, thousands of Palestinian children in Gaza have tragically lost their lives, with many of them being killed while they were asleep.
“In Gaza, thousands of Palestinian children have been killed, many while they slept, as part of Israel’s ongoing military attack,” the organization said in a post on the X social media platform.
Meanwhile, the media office in the Gaza Strip issued a warning on Monday, stating that over 3,500 Palestinian children are in danger of facing starvation. “More than 3,500 children under the age of five are at risk of death in Gaza due to Israeli policies of starving children,” Gaza’s media office said in a statement.
It in particular reported “a severe shortage of milk and food, a lack of nutritional supplements, and the denial of vaccinations.”
At least 36,479 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and over 82,770 others injured, according to local health authorities.