Ramallah, November 2, 2023—At least 3,760 Palestinian children have been killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip since October 7, according to the Ministry of Health.
Israeli forces have killed 3,760 Palestinian children in Gaza and injured at least 7,695 more, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, in three weeks since the Israeli military unleashed a massive military offensive on the Gaza Strip on October 7.
The fatality and injury numbers provided by the Ministry of Health in Gaza only account for people admitted to hospitals, and an estimated 1,150 Palestinian children are reported missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings, indicating the actual death toll is much higher.
At least 9,061 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli military bombardment began on October 7, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The total death toll in Gaza has surpassed that of the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1995, when the Bosnian Serb military killed around 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers.
United Nations’ experts warned yesterday in a statement that time is running out to prevent genocide and humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and expressed deep frustration with Israel’s refusal to halt plans to decimate the besieged Gaza strip.
“We remain convinced that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide,” the experts said. “The time for action is now. Israel’s allies also bear responsibility and must act now to prevent its disastrous course of action,” they said. The statement was released by a total of seven UN special rapporteur human rights mandate holders, including on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation, the right to food, the human rights of internally displaced persons, and on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
On October 31, heavy Israeli airstrikes hit Jabalia refugee camp in north Gaza around 2 p.m., reportedly destroying an area with around 30 residential buildings. Then, on November 1, the Jabalia refugee camp was targeted by Israeli warplanes again targeting residential buildings, according to UN OCHA. Israeli airstrikes targeted Jabalia refugee camp for the third day in a row on November 2, according to Al Jazeera.
The UN experts expressed “deepening horror” about Israeli airstrikes against the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza since October 31, which have reportedly killed and injured hundreds of Palestinians, calling it a brazen breach of international law.
A visual analysis by the Guardian has identified at least five craters in the densely populated refugee camp, which weapons experts said were left by the use of multiple JDAMs – joint direct attack munitions – in the airstrike.
An Israeli airstrike on Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza killed at least 15 people on November 2 and completely destroyed the main square of the camp, according to Al Jazeera. Bureij refugee camp is located south of Wadi Gaza, inside the area that Israeli forces ordered Palestinians in northern Gaza to evacuate to.
Israeli infantry and armored forces continued ground operations within northern Gaza, especially in the Al Karama area, Jabalia, northwest of Gaza city, and Az Zaitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza city, according to UN OCHA, while the Israeli military’s spokesperson said Israeli forces had surrounded Gaza City, according to Ha’aretz.
Israeli military ground operations and fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups means that Gaza City and more broadly northern Gaza have been cut off from the rest of Gaza. Delivery of humanitarian aid from the south to about 300,000 internally displaced persons in the north has come to a halt, according to UN OCHA.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child condemned the killing of children in Gaza Strip and also warned that grave human rights violations against children are mounting by the minute in the Gaza Strip. A statement released yesterday declared, “The Committee on the Rights of the Child strongly condemns the escalation of attacks by Israel against civilian targets in the Gaza Strip,” and “[w]e add our voice to those calling for an immediate ceasefire.”
The Indonesian hospital in northern Gaza, where casualties from the Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp were brought, is now operating on its second backup generator and was forced to cut back on essential services. Al Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza located in Gaza City, is also running critically low on fuel, according to UN OCHA.
Several countries have recalled their ambassadors from Israel or taken other steps to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel in protest of the bombing of Gaza. Bahrain said its ambassador to Israel has returned home, though Israel claims that ties are stable. Chile and Colombia both recalled their ambassadors to Israel while Bolivia announced it is completely severing diplomatic ties with Israel. Jordan announced it is recalling its ambassador to Israel and instructed Israel to recall its ambassador to Jordan.
