Eyad Baba/AFP/Getty Images A Palestinian woman sits on the rubble of her house, destroyed in an Israeli strike, in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday.
At least 404 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have reportedly been killed and more than 560 injured in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza, according to Save the Children.
The renewed bombardment comes after Israel resumed hostilities and reimposed a total siege on the entry of aid and commercial supplies earlier this month. Airstrikes targeted Gaza City, Khan Younis, Deir Al-Balah, and Rafah, with Gaza’s Government Media Office reporting entire families wiped out in the attacks.
Israeli authorities have ordered people in some neighbourhoods of North Gaza and Khan Younis to relocate to shelters elsewhere, including areas already struck by airstrikes today. Supplies of life-saving goods that entered Gaza during a six-week pause in hostilities are now rapidly dwindling.
Both Israel and the United States blame the renewed hostilities on Hamas’ refusal to release more hostages before negotiations on ending the war proceed — which was not part of the ceasefire agreement. The Associated Press reported that Israel accused Hamas of preparing for new attacks, without providing evidence.
Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s Regional Director, said children and families in Gaza have barely caught their breath and are now being plunged back into a “horrifically familiar world of harm that they cannot escape.”
“This latest slaughter was on starved, besieged, defenceless families. It follows more than a fortnight of total siege by the Government of Israel on entry of aid and goods, and repeated violations of the agreed pause in hostilities, international humanitarian law, and the Provisional Measures from the International Court of Justice demanding increased aid flows,” he said.
Alhendawi said hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain displaced, living in tents with no protection from explosive weapons designed for wide-scale destruction.
“Children are the most vulnerable to explosive weapons. Their lighter bodies are thrown further by the blasts and their bones are softer, bending more easily, with higher risk of secondary injuries and long-term deformities and disabilities. Their small bodies have less blood to lose – a death sentence when emergency services can’t safely operate and reach them,” he said.
Alhendawi said children who survive the onslaught have little chance of receiving adequate medical care or basic pain relief due to restrictions on medical supplies and fuel.
“About 579 children have been medically evacuated since the start of February, but more than 4,500 more children need to be. If the siege and airstrikes continue, that number will skyrocket,” he said.
He warned the situation in Gaza was a complete failure of international responsibility.
“This cannot be what world powers allow children to return to. When children are slaughtered en masse, humanity’s moral and legal foundations crumble,” Alhendawi said.
“The only way to ensure children and families are protected as international law requires is through a ceasefire. This time, it must be definitive – the constant threat of war cannot be left hanging over their heads.”
Alhendawi said international law was clear, and civilians must be actively protected.
“There is no military imperative that can justify atrocity crimes. And the international community must use all available means – exhaustively, not selectively – to ensure international law is upheld. Anything less is a global failure – not a mistake, not a regrettable dilemma, but a total dereliction of legal duty. Failure to act now risks the annihilation of children and their futures.”
