Ramallah – Together – His Excellency Dr. Ola Awad, head of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, presented today, Thursday, the conditions of Palestinian children, on the eve of Palestinian Children’s Day.
About half of Palestinian society are children
The report indicated that the number of children under 18 years of age is expected to reach 2,432,534 children in the State of Palestine by mid-2024. (1,364,548 children in the West Bank, and 1,067,986 children in the Gaza Strip), and the percentage of children in Palestine constitutes about 43% of the total population (41% in the West Bank and 47% in the Gaza Strip), while the number of children under the age of 18 years was estimated In the Gaza Strip, there are 544,776 male children and 523,210 female children, of whom about 15% are under the age of five (341,790 male and female children).
The Israeli occupation kills about 4 children every hour in the Gaza Strip
The statistics said, ‘Since the start of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on
October 7, 2023 until the date of issuing this statement, there have been more than 14,350 child martyrs, constituting 44% of the total number of martyrs in the Gaza Strip. Women and children also constituted a percentage of 70%.’ % of the 7,000 people missing in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli aggression.
It should be noted that 455 martyrs have fallen in the West Bank since October 7, 2023 until the date of issuance of this statement, including 117 children, and there are 724 wounded children out of 4,700 wounded since the start of the aggression, and 1,620 Palestinians, including 710 children, have been displaced in various Throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, due to the demolition of their homes, more than half of them were displaced during military operations, especially in the refugee camps in Tulkarm and Jenin[ii].
Al-Taqri added, ‘In a related context, during the year 2023,[iii] 1,085 children were arrested from the West Bank, including 500 children following the Israeli agg
ression on the Gaza Strip, including 318 children in the Jerusalem Governorate. According to data from the Prisoners’ Affairs Authority, the Israeli occupation is still arresting 204 children.’ In its prisons, 202 of them are from the West Bank, one from the Gaza Strip, and one from within the Green Line. Among them are 11 sentenced prisoners, 158 detainees, and 35 under administrative detention.
43,349 children live without their parents or one of them in the Gaza Strip
In the year 2020, there were 26,349 children aged (0-17 years) orphans (who lost one or both parents) in the Gaza Strip, while estimates by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) indicate that about 17 thousand children in Gaza became orphans after they became orphans. They have lost their parents or one of them since October 7, 2023, and each of them represents a sad story of loss and bereavement. This number represents about 1% of the total number of displaced people, which amounts to 1.7 million displaced people in the Gaza Strip[iv
]. As a result, they live in very difficult conditions and circumstances. Exceptional and without a meaningful home, it can lead to profound negative impacts on children, including psychosocial impacts such as loneliness, deteriorating mental health, and poor learning and social development.
Famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip
The Integrated Interim Classification for Food Security (IPC) report for the period February 15-March 15, 2024 showed a high risk of famine in the Gaza Strip, indicating that 95% of the population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.13 million people) face high levels of food security. Severe food insecurity, including up to 1.1 million people in Gaza facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity. This includes an almost 80 percent increase in the number of people facing the highest food insecurity rating since December, and these households are characterized by severe food insecurity. To food, famine and exhaustion of coping capabilities, leading to alarmi
ngly high rates of acute malnutrition among children under the age of five and a significant increase in the death rate. The Ministry of Health reported that 28 children had died due to malnutrition and dehydration in hospitals in the Gaza Strip[v].
According to nutrition examinations conducted by UNICEF, which showed that acute malnutrition rates among children in northern Gaza and Rafah nearly doubled compared to January 2024, rising from 16% to 31% among children under the age of two in northern Gaza, and from 13% to 25% among children under the age of two in Rafah, and the rate of severe wasting, which is the most life-threatening form of malnutrition and requires therapeutic feeding and treatment that is not available in Gaza, increased from 3% to 4.5% among children in shelters and health centers in northern In Gaza, it was four times higher than it was in Rafah, where it rose from 1% to 4%, and in Khan Yunis, where it was found that 28% of children under the age of two suffer from acute malnutrition,
including 10% who suffer from severe wasting[vi].
It is noteworthy that the percentage of children who were moderately underweight in the Gaza Strip in the year 2020 was 2.1%, and 0.3% severely, and the percentage of children who were suffering from moderate short stature reached 9.0% at the time, and 1.8% were suffering from short stature. Of severe short stature. The percentage of children who suffered from moderate wasting was 1%, and severe wasting was 0.5%.
Newborn children of the Gaza Strip are in a struggle to survive in light of the health and food crisis
Newborn children in the Gaza Strip find themselves in a difficult battle to survive, as health data issued by UNICEF show that about 20,000 children were born[vii] under the Israeli aggression since its outbreak in the Gaza Strip, and there are about 60,000 pregnant women[viii]. In the Gaza Strip, with an average of 180 births per day, they face many challenges. As a result, pregnant women suffer from malnutrition and dehydration and face severe f
ood poverty. Therefore, many of their children are born underweight and suffer from health problems, in addition to the possibility of them not receiving vaccinations due to their lack. This means The emergence of diseases that were eliminated and were not present among children, such as measles, whooping cough, polio, and others. As a result, the continuation of these catastrophic conditions leads to the death of many newborns, as the neonatal mortality rate in the year 2020 in the Gaza Strip reached 8.8 births per 1,000 live births. It is noteworthy that the number of children of vaccination age (0-23 months) reached 208,300. A boy and a girl.
More than 816 thousand children are in need of psychological assistance due to the effects of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip
Given the scenes of killing and destruction as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression for 181 days, it leaves profound psychological effects on the children of the Gaza Strip. This effect can include negative emotions suc
h as fear, anxiety, depression, and psychological trauma due to constant psychological pressure and material and human losses, such as the loss of relatives or homes. Aggression can also affect their behavior and daily lifestyle, such as changes in sleeping pattern, feeding, and social relationships. Children may also be exposed to painful physical injuries or the loss of loved ones, which increases their need for psychological and emotional support to recover from these painful experiences. Data indicate that there are more than 816 thousand children in the Gaza Strip in need of psychological assistance from the effects of the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip.[ ix].
620 thousand students, both male and female, in the Gaza Strip were deprived of their right to school education
As a result of the continuous bombing and violent raids on the Gaza Strip, the death toll of students and teachers, and the destruction of the infrastructure of a significant number of schools, the educational process in t
he Gaza Strip has been disrupted since the beginning of the aggression, and about 620 thousand students have been deprived of their right to school education for the academic year 2023/2024. The number of martyrs among students enrolled in schools in Palestine reached 6,050 martyrs, with 5,994 martyrs in the Gaza Strip and 56 martyrs in the West Bank. While the number of wounded students enrolled in schools in Palestine reached 10,219 wounded, with 9,890 wounded in the Gaza Strip and 329 wounded in the West Bank. Regarding the detained students enrolled in schools, 105 students were arrested, all of them from the West Bank.
Source: Maan News Agency