“It is shameful that some continue to justify what is happening, citing the right to self-defence and resisting terrorism".
In a genuinely horrific report the United Nations has stated that as of Tuesday, October 24 2,360 children had been killed and 5,364 injured by the relentless Israeli attacks on Gaza.
This amounts to more than 400 children reportedly either killed or injured daily.
The situation is so bad that it is being reported "that parents in Gaza have taken to labeling their children's hands and legs so that medical workers will be able to identify them if they become the next victims of a bombing.
"We received some cases where the parents wrote the names of their children on the legs and abdomen," Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Masri, who heads the emergency department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told CNN on Monday. "Anything could happen... They feel they are targeted at any moment."
“The killing and maiming of children, abduction of children, attacks on hospitals and schools, and the denial of humanitarian access constitute grave violations of children's rights,” said Adele Khodr, UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
“UNICEF urgently appeals on all parties to agree to a ceasefire, allow humanitarian access and release all hostages. Even wars have rules. Civilians must be protected – children particularly – and all efforts must be made to spare them in all circumstances.”
Further, UNICEF has warned that at least 130 premature babies in Gaza hospitals are at risk of death due to fuel shortages in the "under full siege".
Both international organizations and local authorities have reported in recent hours that newborns could die if hospitals do not have access to fuel to generate electricity.
UNICEF spokesman Jonathan Creeks told Agence France-Presse: "There are currently 120 newborns in incubators, of whom 70 are on mechanical ventilation, and of course we are very worried about them."
The World Health Organization has reported that at least 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza currently do not have access to basic health services, while some 5,500 of them will give birth within the next month.
According to Common Dreams people gathered at a vigil in Parliament Square in London, organized by Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), called for "an immediate cease-fire to stop the loss of thousands more young lives."
"Today we mourn the at least 2,000 children that have been killed since Israel's bombardment and siege of Gaza began. A further 5,000 children have been injured and 800 children are missing, believed to be dead under the rubble," said Melanie Ward, CEO of MAP.
One mourner wrote the name of 13-year-old Bayan Shabat, who was one of seven children killed in an airstrike on her home in Beit Hanoun on October 8.
Sameh Shoukry Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt said during a UN Security Council meeting on October 24 that “It is shameful that some continue to justify what is happening, citing the right to self-defence and resisting terrorism".
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