33,899 Palestinians Killed Due to Israeli Attacks on Gaza, 13,800 of them Children

Israeli military land operations in Gaza. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Nearly 14,000 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip, while the number of Palestinian deaths due to Israeli attacks has now approached 34,000 in the war which has entered its 195th day.

According to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Executive Director Catherine Russell, more than 13,800 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the latest Hamas-Israel conflict broke out.

"Thousands of people are injured and thousands more are on the verge of starvation," he said at a press conference in New York, according to a statement from his organization, reported by CNN, April 18.

In a separate statement, the United Nations Agency for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women said "one child is injured or dies every 10 minutes" in Gaza. The statement added that more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the war began, with 6,000 of them leaving 19,000 children orphaned.

Previously, UNICEF communications specialist Tess Ingram, who recently visited Gaza, said at a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday that what shocked her was the number of injured children she saw.

"Not only in hospitals, but also on the streets, in temporary shelters, living their lives which have now changed permanently," he explained.

Separately, the Hamas-run Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that Israeli soldiers killed 56 Palestinians and injured 89 others over the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 33,899 and injured to 76,664, since the latest Hamas-Israel conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, quoted from Xinhua.

The statement noted that many victims remained under the rubble amid heavy bombing and a lack of rescue crews.