Report: “437 children killed, 1872 injured in Israel’s offensive”
The Ministry of Social Affairs in the Gaza Strip reported that the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip left 1346 children orphaned, 437 dead and 1872 wounded.
Ahmad Al Kurd, Minister of Social Affairs, stated on Friday that the Israeli army targeted women and children, and it’s shelling targeted homes, hospitals, educational facilities and even mosques.
He said that the large number of children killed or wounded shows that Israel did not hesitate to target civilian areas.
This is besides the fact that nearly 1346 children lost one or both parents during the war.
The army killed 1434 Palestinians, including 960 civilians, during the war on Gaza. Among the slain residents were 437 children under the age of 16, 110 women, 123 elderly, 14 physicians and medics, and four journalists. 1872 children were wounded.
The Guardian newspaper reports that Israel is facing accusations of committing war crimes in Gaza, including using civilians as human shields.
Thousands of children are suffering from psychological and emotional problems caused by the shelling and the scenes of death and destructions they witnessed.
In interviews with human rights groups, several children said that they spent days next to their dead parents as the Israeli shelling continued and medics were unable enter the shelled areas to look for survivors.
Anne Finman of the UNICEF stated that in March she visited a UNICEF Psychological Support Center and the Red Crescent Society in Gaza where she witnessed children drawing missiles that targeted their homes; one child drew a dark area under her drawing and said that this is “a place for burying the dead”
Finman stated that the children need urgently professional help from suitably trained psychologists to help them overcome the effects of trauma
