‘Bearing the Brunt’ – Three Palestinian Children Killed Every Week in West Bank

By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

Dujarric cited UN humanitarian partners who described this as a staggering “four-fold increase compared to the first nine months of 2023.”

The United Nations Spokesman for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, highlighted on Thursday the dire impact of the ongoing violence in the occupied West Bank on Palestinian children, revealing that, on average, three children are being killed every week.

Speaking to reporters, Dujarric cited UN humanitarian partners who described this as a staggering “four-fold increase compared to the first nine months of 2023.”

Dujarric also referenced the recent nearly two-day military operation by Israeli forces in Jenin and the Jenin refugee camp. He noted that colleagues from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), in collaboration with the Palestinian Authority, have been working to assess the humanitarian needs of those affected.

In addition to the violence, the spokesperson pointed to the persistent displacement caused by settler actions. 

“Of the more than 1,700 Palestinians displaced by settler violence, intimidation and harassment in Bedouin communities and herding communities, nearly half were children,” he said.

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‘Hangs in the Balance’

Turning to the Gaza Strip, Dujarric quoted Muhannad Hadi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, who painted a grim picture of the worsening humanitarian crisis.

“The delivery of critical aid across Gaza, including food, water, fuel and medical supplies, is grinding to a halt. The survival of two million people hangs in the balance,” Hadi warned, following a visit to the besieged enclave.

Hadi pointed out that Gaza’s bakeries are closing at an alarming rate due to severe shortages of flour and fuel, a consequence of over six weeks of restrictions on commercial imports imposed by Israeli authorities.

“Palestinian civilians are struggling to survive under unlivable conditions, amid relentless hostilities. Pushed to the brink, they lack access to essential support they desperately need to endure this unparalleled humanitarian catastrophe,” he emphasized.

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Genocide Continues

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 44,056 Palestinians have been killed, and 104,268 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

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 The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety. 

(The Palestine Chronicle)

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