Save the Children, the international non-governmental organization (NGO) for children’s rights, reported on the 25th that over 21,000 children in the Gaza Strip appear to be missing, detained, or dead.
Save the Children indicates that as the Israeli military continues its offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip considered the last stronghold of Hamas, an increasing number of children are being separated from their guardians.
So far, Save the Children estimates that at least 17,000 children in the Gaza Strip have been separated from their guardians. It also shared that over 4,000 children are known to be buried under rubble, with some in mass graves.
Evidence of torture and summary executions were found on the bodies of the children who were buried in mass graves, and some are suspected to have been buried alive.
According to the Gaza Strip’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, 14,000 children have died since the start of the war, but nearly half of them remain unidentified due to body mutilation.
Since last October, at least 33 Israeli children have been killed. As of June 2024, 250 Palestinian children from the West Bank are missing. However, due to restrictions on movement, their families are unable to confirm their whereabouts.
The Palestinian office of Save the Children stated, “It’s virtually impossible to identify victims when an entire family has died, and expert identification of remains using equipment is not feasible due to difficulties in accessing the Gaza Strip.”
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