Armed conflicts or wars destroy dreams of hope for the future. From physical wounds to emotional scars, children are the worst hit, with profound and enduring impacts. Each year, thousands of children are killed or injured in crossfire fights or by explosives.
Today, in war zones across the world, from Ethiopia to Palestine, from Afghanistan to Ukraine, and from Syria to Sudan, children are living through unspeakable horrors! Leave alone their dignity and safety; they are living without food, clean water, shelter, and protection.
Now, as the war between Israel and Hamas rages, it is taking a horrendous toll on the lives of children. Hundreds of thousands of children are affected following the escalation of hostilities in Gaza and are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection.
Nothing justifies this brutality! Since the beginning of the war, images have shown crying children running through the street and cowering in bomb shelters after airstrikes.
Gaza’s population is one of the youngest in the world, with nearly half under the age of 18 out of a total of 2.3 million people. These children are under constant bombardment, with many packed into temporary shelters in schools. Even there, they are not safe as such schools have been hit by bombs.
Before this renewed violence, 1.1 million children were already in need of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, accounting for approximately half the child population.
Reports of children being killed and injured in airstrikes and children being kidnapped and held hostage have exacerbated fears of an unprecedented psychological toll. These acts are a grave violation and a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
“Nothing justifies the killing, maiming, or abduction of children. Any delay in bringing an end to the conflict will inevitably result in more devastating consequences for children”, said Unicef Spokesperson James Elder.
Depriving children of access to food and essential services puts their lives at risk, as do attacks on civilian areas and infrastructure, including health centres, schools, and water and sanitation systems.
But why are children not protected during wars?
Despite internationally accepted rules under the Geneva Conventions in 1949 that children must be protected and treated humanely in armed conflicts, they are often separated from their families, driven from their homes, killed, maimed, or exploited in other ways. Israel ratified the Geneva Conventions in 1951.
In a joint statement at the beginning of this week, the US, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, and Canada called for adherence to international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, though they are fully aware that, in Gaza, the exact opposite is happening.
As reports indicate, Gaza’s children are suffering record levels of psychological trauma and terror. Many are left with no place to stay and are facing an acute shortage of food and safe drinking water.
The children of Gaza deserve the chance to heal. They still have dreams, they still have hopes, and they still have aspirations. But what is lacking is the right support mechanism.
As Unicef insists, “A child is a child. Children everywhere must be protected at all times and must never come under attack”. Or the judgement and the revenge of those children, after their survival, may be unsparing, indiscriminate, and terrible, too!
After all, events in Gaza represent a deeply rooted moral failure for which all must share some blame!
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