2023 ‘year of genocide’ against Palestinian children : Advocacy group

Defense for Children International (DCI) says 2023 was the year of “genocide” against Palestinian children, who have been major targets of Israeli attacks during three months of brutal war on the besieged territory.

Israeli forces have massacred more than 10,000 infants and children since October 7, DCI said, citing Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor figures.

The independent, local Palestinian child rights organization said the rate of killing of Palestinian children at the hands of Israeli forces in 2023 is unprecedented.

DCI said Israel’s indiscriminate and direct attacks against residential buildings and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, schools will inevitably result in more children being massacred.

On Sunday, Israeli forces shot and martyred a four-year-old Palestinian girl, named Ruqaya Ahmad Odeh Jahalin, as she was sitting in the backseat of a car in the central occupied West Bank.

“Israeli forces opened fire with no regard for Ruqaya’s life. This is just one example of the impunity enjoyed by Israeli forces emboldened in an environment where the international community refuses to hold them accountable,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, Accountability Program Director at DCI.

Euro-Med Monitor says many children remain trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings with little chance of survival, the total number of child deaths is likely to exceed 10,000.

According to its figures, virtually 700,000 children have been affected by Israel’s genocide, a number that includes those who were martyred, injured, and internally displaced.

The Geneva-based rights organization estimated that between 24,000 and 25,000 children in the Gaza Strip have lost one or both parents, and approximately 640,000 have had their homes destroyed or damaged, leaving them without a place to live.

Israel’s constant bombardment of Gaza has so far claimed the lives of more than 23,210 people. Over 59,100 people are wounded and up to 1.9 million people (over 85 percent of the population) have been displaced across the besieged coastal enclave.