More than 16,000 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the TSAhal military offensive on October 7, 2023, a rate of a child every 40 minutes, the health authorities based in Gaza reported on Monday.
Gaza, May 5 (Xinhua) – More than 16,000 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the TSAhal military offensive on October 7, 2023, a rate of a child every 40 minutes, the health authorities based in Gaza reported on Monday.
According to Marwan al-Hams, director of field hospitals of the Gaza health authorities who made this declaration during a press briefing at the Nasser medical complex in Khan Younis, in the south of the coastal enclave, the results amounted to 16,278 children, including 908 infants and 311 newborns who died after birth.
He also pointed out that the humanitarian situation has worsened considerably since Israel closed the passages in early March, disturbing essential health services, leaving thousands of pregnant children and women without access to medical care and further exacerbating the crisis.
In addition, added Mr. Al-Hams, many children survive with a single incomplete meal per day, limited access to drinking water and good nutrition, due to the targeting of infrastructure and blocking aid by the Israeli army. He also noted that thousands of children live in travel centers without basic necessities, while pregnant women are faced with significant challenges to reach hospitals.
Israel interrupted the entry of goods and supplies to Gaza on March 2, after the expiration of the first phase of a ceasefire agreement concluded in January with Hamas. The second phase has still not materialized, the stakeholders are still in a dead end.
 More than 16,000 children killed in Gaza since the start of the war (health authorities) – Xinhua){kind=link}