“These children – lives that should never be reduced to numbers – are now part of a long, harrowing list of unimaginable horrors.”
The UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has warned that with more than 50,000 children killed or injured in Gaza since October 2023, “no one is safe, no one is spared.”
“According to @UNICEF, 50,000 boys and girls have been killed or injured in just 20 months,” UNRWA’s @JulietteTouma tells @rte.
Civilians, including children, humanitarian and medical workers, first responders, and journalists, continue to be killed and injured in the Gaza… pic.twitter.com/a1LbkI7w6w
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) June 2, 2025
‘One Child Killed, Every 20 Minutes’
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced last week that more than 50,000 children, “one child every 20 minutes,” have reportedly been killed or injured since October 2023.
“Since the end of the ceasefire on 18 March, 1,309 children have reportedly been killed and 3,738 injured. In total, more than 50,000 children have reportedly been killed or injured since October 2023,” Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said.
More than 50,000 children reportedly killed or injured in #Gaza since October 2023.
One child, every 20 minutes.Grave violations. Blocked aid. Starvation.
Homes, schools, hospitals — destroyed.
This is the destruction of childhood. Of life itself.These are children. Not… pic.twitter.com/F23RYhsg8R
— UNICEF MENA – يونيسف الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا (@UNICEFmena) May 30, 2025
“How many more dead girls and boys will it take? What level of horror must be livestreamed before the international community fully steps up, uses its influence, and takes bold, decisive action to force the end of this ruthless killing of children?” Beigbeder asked.
Al-Najjar Family
He said that in a 72-hour period last weekend, “we saw videos of the bodies of burnt, dismembered children from the al-Najjar family being pulled from the rubble of their home in Khan Younis.”
Of 10 siblings under 12 years old, only one reportedly survived, with critical injuries, Beigbeder stated.
Dr Alaa al Najjar bids farewell to her nine children! pic.twitter.com/KA60GCzFTS
— Motasem A Dalloul (@AbujomaaGaza) May 24, 2025
Later on Monday, “we saw images of a small child trapped in a burning school in Gaza City.
That attack reportedly killed at least 31 people, including 18 children,” he added.
‘Unimaginable Horrors’
“These children – lives that should never be reduced to numbers – are now part of a long, harrowing list of unimaginable horrors: the grave violations against children, the blockade of aid, the starvation, the constant forced displacement, and the destruction of hospitals, water systems, schools, and homes. In essence, the destruction of life itself in the Gaza Strip,” Beigbeder said.
UNICEF: Over 50,000 Children Killed or Injured in Gaza since October 2023
He stressed that the children of Gaza “need protection,” adding that “they need immediate, collective action to stop this once and for all.”
Aid Center Killings
Meanwhile, UNRWA’s Commissioner General, Philippe Lazzarini, said on Sunday that “Gaza’s aid distribution has become a death trap.”
Earlier in the day, Israeli occupation forces opened fire on Palestinians gathered near an aid distribution center west of Rafah, in southern Gaza, killing and wounding scores.
According to Nasser Hospital sources, at least three Palestinians were killed and 35 others injured while attempting to access aid at a facility reportedly operated with backing from Israeli and US entities.
Another Massacre at Rafah Aid Center as Gaza Death Toll Mounts
Criticising the US-backed Israeli aid plan, Lazzarini said the system was “humiliating”, forcing thousands of hungry and desperate people to walk for tens of miles to an area that’s all but pulverized due to heavy bombardment by the Israeli Army.”
Aid deliveries and distribution must be “at scale and safe,” he said, adding that in Gaza, “this can be done only through the United Nations including UNRWA.”
“The State of Israel must lift the siege and allow the UN safe and unhindered access to bring in aid and distribute it safely. This is the only way to avert mass starvation including among 1 million children,” Lazzarini stated.
Staggering Death Toll
Since Israel’s reneging on the ceasefire on March 18, it has killed and wounded thousands of Palestinians throughout the Gaza Strip through a bloody and ongoing aerial bombardment.
On October 7, 2023, following a Palestinian Resistance operation in southern Israel, the Israeli military launched a genocidal war against the Palestinians, killing over 54,000, wounding more than 123,000, with over 14,000 still missing.
16 Palestinians, including 6 children, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a house in Jabaliya al-Balad, northern Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/mjsrgWbTBv
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) June 2, 2025
Despite habitual condemnation by many countries around the world of the Israeli genocide, little has been done to hold Israel accountable.
Israel is currently under investigation for the crime of genocide by the International Court of Justice, while accused war criminals — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — are now officially wanted by the International Criminal Court.
The Israeli genocide has been largely defended, supported, and financed by Washington and a few other Western powers.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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