Children hardest hit in Gaza conflict

Children bore the brunt of the three-week Gaza conflict, says United Nations Children’s Agency, Unicef.

More than 400 children were among the 1,314 Palestinians killed and more than 1,800 children were injured, many suffering amputations or severe burns, according to figures from the UN. Horrific anecdotal evidence of the impact of the fighting is seeping through since the troops pulled out on Wednesday. Aid workers reportedly found four weak and emaciated children next to their dead mothers in Gaza City. And the BBC has told how women and children were shot as they came out of their house waving a white flag.

The UN is launching a major aid effort to help tens of thousands of children suffering in the aftermath of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. UN humanitarian chief Sir John Holmes, who visited Gaza yesterday, said he was shocked by "the systematic nature of the destruction".

BBC correspondent Christian Fraser told Radio 4 yesterday how four-year-old Samar Abed Rabbu Samar had been shot in the back at close range. The bullet damaged her spine, and she is unlikely to walk again. He said her family had been ordered out of their home by soldiers who were shelling the neighbourhood. The women and children - mother, grandmother and three little girls - came out waving a white flag. A tank had parked in front of the house. Samar's two sisters aged seven and two, were shot dead. Her grandmother was hit in the arm and in the side, but has survived. Samar's uncle, Hassan told the correspondent the soldier who shot his niece was just 15m (49ft) away. ''How could they not see they were shooting at children?'' he asked.

Medics say brain scans show many children ending up at the hospitals had been shot at close range. Unicef aims to offer mass counselling and first aid. "We are dealing with families that have suffered immeasurable losses," Sigrid Kaag, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, told Reuters. "The state of injury of children is very worrisome, from moderate to severe ... which often of course impacts the chances of rehabilitation,” he added.

Even before the latest outbreak of violence, 50,000 Gazan children were malnourished. Lack of access to food, clean water and medical supplies exacerbates threats to children’s health and well-being.

SOS Children runs programmes in six major areas of the Gaza Strip. It has delivered more than 300 hygiene kits (complete with blankets, towels, sanitary napkins, slippers, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc…) to families in these areas.

Written by Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children

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