Gaza officials say 14,500 children killed by Israel in nearly 3,000 massacres

News Desk - The Cradle

In less than six months, the Israeli army has killed more children inside Gaza than in any conflict around the world from 2019 to 2022

As Israel approaches the six-month mark in its genocidal war against Gaza, figures released by the enclave's Government Media Office on 3 April show that the Israeli army has so far committed 2,922 massacres that killed 14,500 children and 9,560 women.

The official death toll stands at 32,975 as of Wednesday. However, this only accounts for Palestinians whose bodies arrived at hospitals, while around 7,000 remain missing.

Among the deaths are 30 children who perished as a result of Israeli-imposed famine in the strip. 
Further, 484 medical workers and 140 journalists are reported as casualties, while Gaza officials also say the invading army has arrested another 310 medical staff and 12 journalists.

For the past several weeks, Israeli officials have claimed that 13,000 “terrorists” were killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, implying that every adult male killed in Gaza is a ‘terrorist.’

"In practice, a terrorist is anyone the [Israeli Army] has killed in the areas in which its forces operate," a reserve officer told Israel news outlet Haaretz earlier this week, in a report that highlights the establishment of “extermination areas” across Gaza.

As for the destruction of infrastructure, Tel Aviv has completely razed 100 schools and universities, 229 mosques, and 70,000 homes. At least 32 hospitals have been taken out of commission, including Al-Shifa Hospital, which was destroyed after a two-week raid that killed at least 400 Palestinians.

The staggering figures come as global outrage swells against Israel for its complete disregard for civilian lives, including foreign aid workers, and as more nations are choosing to join in the genocide case against Tel Aviv at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Last week, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese issued a report titled “Anatomy of a Genocide,” concluding there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that the threshold of the crime of genocide has been met inside Gaza.

“A core feature of Israel’s conduct since 7 October has been the intensification of its de-civilianization of Palestinians, a protected group under the [Genocide] Convention. Israel has used [International Humanitarian Law] terminology to justify its systematic use of lethal violence against Palestinian civilians as a group and the extensive destruction of life-sustaining infrastructures," Albanese details. 

“Gaza’s civilian population and infrastructure are presented as obstructions positioned amongst, in front of, and above targets … Israel has characterized the whole territory as a military objective … Israel considers any object that has allegedly been or might be used militarily as a legitimate target so that entire neighborhoods can be razed or demolished under fictions of legality,” the UN official adds.

Nevertheless, the US government has continued to fuel Israel's genocidal war by delivering over 100 arms shipments since 7 October and green-lighting new weapons deals for their close ally, despite allegations of ‘discontent’ behind the scenes.