On Palestinian Child Day: Innocence Under Attack, and a Silence That Fails Twice
As we mark Palestinian Child Day amid one of the most tragic phases in our people’s history, Israeli violations and crimes against Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank continue unabated. Children are paying the heaviest price for an aggression that has spared no home, no school, and no hospital. The right of children to live in safety and dignity has become a distant hope, as the ongoing assault—now in its 534th day—has claimed the lives of thousands of children and left tens of thousands suffering from family loss, displacement, hunger, and life-altering injuries.
Recent data reveals alarming figures that reflect the depth of the catastrophe endured by Palestine’s children. In Gaza, 17,954 children have been killed, including 876 infants who had not yet reached their first birthday. 3,500 children are at imminent risk of death due to malnutrition and hunger. There have been 4,700 recorded cases of amputation, 18% of which involve children who lost their limbs under bombardment. Meanwhile, 39,384 children have lost one or both parents, facing an uncertain future without care or protection.
In the West Bank, recent months have seen a sharp escalation in the targeting of children. Since the beginning of 2023, 224 children have been killed, reflecting a 250% increase compared to previous periods—a flagrant violation of all international conventions and treaties that guarantee the protection of children in times of armed conflict.
In addition to direct targeting, nearly 600,000 children in Gaza have been denied their most basic rights to education, healthcare, and routine immunization, due to the continued aggression, blockade, and destruction of infrastructure. Despite these enormous challenges, the State of Palestine continues to exert intensive efforts to alleviate the suffering of children—implementing e-learning initiatives to maintain educational continuity where possible and working to launch alternative immunization campaigns in accessible areas to preserve children's health under catastrophic conditions.
On this occasion, the Ministry of Social Development affirms that Palestinian Child Day is not merely a date on the calendar, but a testament to the ongoing injustice inflicted upon our children—a moral and legal appeal to the international community to assume its responsibilities toward a generation being erased in full view of the world.
In this context, Minister of Social Development, Dr. Samah Hamad, stated:
"Children around the world are born into safety and grow to experience their childhoods. But the children of Palestine are born into destruction, bombardment, and hunger. The occupation has crossed every red line and left no room for survival or hope. This demands a firm and urgent international stance to protect Palestinian childhood from this deliberate and systematic targeting."
The Ministry reaffirms its condemnation of these ongoing crimes and grave violations, and calls upon the international community, child rights organizations, and all humanitarian and legal bodies to take immediate action to ensure the protection of Palestinian children, to hold the occupying power accountable, and to work toward ending the aggression that is stripping children of their most fundamental rights—to life, safety, and education.