By : Najla M. Shahwan
Jordan Daily –‘Gaza is no place for children anymore. They are the first casualty of this merciless war,’ Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on August 21 condemning an Israeli attack on UN-run school in Gaza City.
“Children reported killed and injured. Some were burnt to death,” he added. “Is there any humanity left?”
Israeli warplanes bombed Salah al-Din School, the ninth school to shelter displaced persons targeted by the Israeli military since early August.
More than 16,480 Palestinian children including 115 babies have been killed and thousands more injured in the Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since last Oct. 7, local Palestinian authorities said on August 19 .
Besides, 35 Palestinian children have died from malnutrition and dehydration amid the tight Israeli blockade on the enclave.
Israeli bombardment from air , land, and sea continues across the Gaza Strip, resulting in further civilian casualties, displacement, destruction of houses hospitals , schools and other civilian infrastructure. Ground incursions, particularly in eastern area of Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, and heavy fighting also continue to be reported.
The conflict in the Gaza Strip has been taking a catastrophic toll on children and over 3,500 children in Gaza are facing the risk of death amid the lack of food and malnutrition under Israeli restrictions on the delivery of food into Gaza.
More than 17,000 children have lost their parents or at least one of them after they were brutally killed by the Israeli forces since Oct. 7.
For more than ten months, international and UN agencies have warned from a negative psychological impact on Palestinian children due to Israel’s devastating offensive on Gaza.
Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.
The Israeli onslaught has since killed over 40,476 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and more than 93,647 were injured, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
Vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Around 1.9 million people – about 9 in 10 of Gaza’s population – are estimated to have been internally displaced , half of them children.
They do not have enough access to water, food, fuel and medicine, their homes have been destroyed; their families torn apart and many have been displaced multiple times.
On the other hand, education of young Palestinians in Gaza is the other unspoken victim of this war, as over 625,000 students have been deprived of teachers or safe places to learn and most of schools have been ruined or turned into shelters.
As of 30 July 2024, all the 625,000 enrolled students in Gaza have lost one full scholastic year.
Moreover , 39,000 students missed the Tawjihi (12th grade official exams) for the first time in decades.
Besides, attacks on Gaza’s libraries, museums, art galleries, and historical sites never stopped.
These places are part of a wider educational context within which Palestinian children develop a sense of self, and an understanding of their history and heritage and its place in the world.
These places are being destroyed, thus removing the cultural environment within which Palestinian children develop.
Since October 7 2023, life has changed beyond recognition for the 2.3 million people living in the Gaza Strip. While children are always the innocent victims of any violent conflict or crisis, the impact of this war on children in Gaza is unprecedented.
UN chief Antonio Guterres, said in a General Assembly speech in May: “If there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza.”
All of Gaza’s children have been exposed to the traumatic experiences of war, the consequences of which will last a lifetime.
Their rights , as listed in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, are being violated.
Daily struggles for basic needs, exposure to violence, and the constant threat to their sense of security shape their daily lives and will have a long-lasting impact on their mental health. The most basic of rights , the right to life, survival and protection during war and conflict are being completely disregarded and there is little hope that other rights will be respected.
Children in Gaza are not learning to become the next generation of scientists and artists. Instead, they are being forced to learn to survive one of the most destructive bombing campaigns in history.
Children must be able to access stable education, healthcare, nutrition and other necessities, yet alone they must have opportunities to play, relax and just ‘be children’.
Gaza’s children have endured unimaginable horrors – they deserve an immediate ceasefire and a chance for a peaceful future.
Najla M. Shahwan is Palestinian author, researcher and freelance journalist.She is also Chairwoman of the Palestinian Center for Children’s Literature ( PCCL ) , founder of Jana Woman Cultural Magazine and recipient of two prizes from the Palestinian Union of Writers.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Jordan Daily.
