News Center – The suffering of Gaza's children is worsening as the war continues. They face displacement, hunger, fear, and the collapse of basic services, amid warnings that their situation has become inhumane and that protection is virtually impossible in light of the ongoing bombardment and widespread destruction.

 

Five civilians were killed and fifteen others wounded on Monday, July 6, in an Israeli airstrike that targeted a vehicle in the densely populated al-Mawasi area of ​​Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Information Center.

 

Israeli aircraft also launched another airstrike on a vehicle near the Palestinian Mills north of Khan Younis, but no injuries were reported. In Gaza City, a local source said that two people were killed and several others wounded when an apartment building near the Jordanian Hospital in the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood was targeted.

 

In the central Gaza Strip, a man died from wounds sustained when he was struck by shrapnel from an Israeli artillery shell east of al-Masdar village. Meanwhile, Israeli artillery shelled eastern areas of Khan Younis, and Israeli military vehicles fired heavily toward the southern and eastern parts of the city.

 

This attack comes amid heavy drone activity in western Gaza City, raising residents' fears of a new military escalation in the region, given the ongoing Israeli air operations since the start of the war.

 

Children cannot be protected.

 

UNICEF spokesperson Louise Waterridge stated that "there is no safe childhood in Gaza," noting that children should be in classrooms, on playgrounds, and with their families and friends, but instead find themselves forced to search daily for food, water, and medicine simply to survive.

 

The spokesperson emphasized that the reality of life in Gaza has reached an "inhumane" level, explaining that children have been living this harsh situation day after day for more than two and a half years, to the point where terror has become a normal part of their daily lives.

She added that the organization's reports are no longer able to keep pace with the scale of the ongoing tragedies, as new atrocities emerge within hours of any incident being documented, including during ceasefires. She noted that trauma has become ingrained in the very fabric of childhood, with children trapped in a vicious cycle of displacement, hunger, fear, disease, death, and uncertainty.

 

The UN official stated that children cannot be protected while "bombs continue to fall from the sky," and they cannot return to school if they are not There are schools, but there is no security, and resources and supplies are limited.

 

Health authorities in Gaza announced that the number of children killed since the start of the war has reached 21,638, representing about 30% of the total casualties. The number of wounded children has exceeded 45,000, including nearly 1,000 who have suffered amputations.

 

In the same context, the Ministry of Education reported that the number of students killed as of April 20th reached 19,061, in addition to 28,337 wounded. Furthermore, 801 educational staff members were killed and 3,291 others were injured. 179 government schools were completely destroyed, while 105 schools belonging to UNRWA were also targeted by bombing and vandalism.