Image via UNRWA & X
Oxfam has released a report that shows that more "women and children have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the past year than the equivalent period of any other conflict over the past two decades".
As hostilities and tragic loss of life spread in Lebanon and the West Bank - including East Jerusalem - the regional escalation underscores the urgent need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Conservative figures show that more than 6,000 women and 11,000 children were killed in Gaza by the Israeli military over the last 12 months. Data from 2004 - 2021 on direct conflict deaths from the Small Arms Survey estimates that the highest number of women killed in a single year was over 2,600 in Iraq in 2016.
A report by the organisation Every Casualty Counts examined information on over 11,000 children killed across the first 2.5 years of the Syria conflict, an average of over 4,700 deaths a year. UN Children and Armed Conflict reports over the last 18 years show that no other conflicts killed a higher number of children in one year.
According to Dr Umaiyeh Khammash, director of Oxfam partner Juzoor, which is supporting hundreds of thousands of people in more than 90 shelters and health points across Gaza, the "past year has had a devastating impact with women bearing a double burden. Many have suddenly become the heads of their households, navigating survival and care in the midst of destruction. Pregnant and breastfeeding mothers have faced immense difficulties, including from the collapse in healthcare services.
For children, the trauma is equally profound. Over 25,000 children have either lost a parent or become orphans, leaving them in deep emotional distress. Most children are grappling with anxiety and severe physical injuries, with many having lost limbs.”
“It is impossible to comprehend the scale of the destruction and the number of people killed by Israel’s military in the last 12 months. More harrowing still, those numbers are conservative at best," Halima Begum, Oxfam Great Britain’s Chief Executive
Records indicate Israeli explosive weapons in Gaza hit on average:
Homes every four hours
Tents and temporary shelters every 17 hours
Schools and hospitals every four days
Aid distribution points and warehouses every 15 days
Oxfam notes that civilian "infrastructure has either been completely destroyed or severely damaged, including around 68 per cent of cropland and roads. Only 17 of 36 hospitals remain partially functional, and all suffer from a lack of fuel, medical supplies, and clean water.
Throughout the last year Israel has committed serious violations of International Humanitarian Law which may rise to the level of crimes against humanity. This includes a level of destruction that is indicative of Israel’s use of disproportionate force in relation to military objectives and a failure to discriminate between military targets and the civilian population. The Israeli military has relentlessly targeted infrastructure indispensable to civilian survival. Civilians have been forcibly displaced dozens of times to so-called ‘safe zones’ that fail to meet basic humanitarian needs and have also been regularly bombed or attacked."
“These staggering figures are both appalling and heartbreaking. Influential actors in the international community have not only failed to hold Israel to account, they are also complicit in the atrocities by continuing to unconditionally supply it with arms. It will take generations to recover from the devastating impacts of this war and there is still no ceasefire in sight," Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Middle East and North Africa Director, said.
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