World Children’s Day this year comes at a time when Palestinian children in Gaza the West Bank and Jerusalem have become targets for the Israeli occupation its air force and ground forces as tons of bombs have fallen on Gaza while bullets rained on the children in the West Bank and Jerusalem.
Thousands of child martyrs
Since October 7 more than 5500 children have been martyred and thousands of them have been injured. Still thousands of children remain missing due to the brutal bombing that targeted them while they were sleeping safely in their homes or displacement centers. This marks the biggest heinous crime in modern history against children all amidst global silence and the shameless approval of the United States and Europe.
In the West Bank 47 children were targeted by the Israeli occupation and its settlers resulting in their martyrdom in addition to hundreds of other injuries as documented by ‘Moa’ti Center’.
Children captives
More than 880 children have been documented as detainees in the West Bank and Jerusalem since the beginning of this year which has witnessed an unprecedented escalation in arrest operations especially after October 7.
The number of child prisoners in the Israeli prisons by the end of October of this year is more than 200 children detained in Ofer Megiddo and Damon prisons. Among the detained children 26 are held under administrative detention.
Since the beginning of October until the end of the month 145 cases of child arrests were recorded with the highest number in Jerusalem which witnesses the highest percentage of child arrests. Most of them especially in Jerusalem are released under conditions including the dangerous policy of house arrest imposed by the occupation authorities.
For about two years until this year Israel has escalated administrative detention against children with the number of administratively detained reaching 26 children. Some of these children were shot before their arrest and they were detained administratively despite their injuries. The majority of administratively detained children are between the ages of 16 and 17.
Blood of children incriminates occupation
For its part the Hamas Movement emphasized that the blood of Gaza and Palestinian children will remain a witness to the “crimes of the new Nazis” calling for the trial of the leaders of the Israeli occupation and the inclusion of their entity in the “list of shame.”
Hamas said in a statement: “While the United Nations and the world celebrate on November 20 the World Children’s Day the Nazi occupation its government and its fascist army continue their heinous crimes in committing horrifying massacres against our children in the Gaza Strip for 45 days.”
It continued: “The terrorist occupation persists in deepening the pain of our sick injured and wounded children through the siege systematic bombing and destruction of hospitals and through the policy of starvation thirst and displacement.”
Hamas affirmed that the practices of Israeli in the Gaza Strip against civilians and children are a blatant violation of all human values norms laws and international conventions.
It added: “The celebration of the United Nations and international institutions of World Children’s Day calls on them to carry out their entrusted role in protecting the children of the Gaza Strip and providing all the elements of human life.”
Hamas continued: “They bear political moral and human responsibility to act and move seriously to stop the massacres and the genocide being committed against innocent childhood in Palestine.”
It called for including the “Zionist Nazi entity” in the “list of shame” which includes organizations and states that violate the rights of children in conflict zones and to try the leaders of the occupation for their crimes against Palestinian children as war criminals.
Hamas considered that the escalation of the Israeli crimes against Palestinian children is a desperate attempt that will not succeed in terrorizing the popular embrace of the resistance and breaking the will and steadfastness of the Palestinian people in their land.
