Israel utilizes snipers and enforces food scarcity on children in Gaza
In the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine, the lives of children have been tragically affected. Over the past two years, at least 1,000 Palestinians, including a disproportionate number of children, have been killed by Israeli forces near aid distribution sites since May 2025.
The BBC World Service has compiled 168 cases of children shot in Gaza, with 95 of them being shot in the head or chest. In 57 of these cases, the shooters were identified as Israeli soldiers. One such incident involved a six-year-old child, Mira Tanboura, who was shot in the back of the chest in front of her father on November 18, 2023, while walking along a road designated as a humanitarian corridor by the Israeli army.
The Israeli military has been accused of carrying out airstrikes on locations in Gaza sheltering Palestinian civilians, including children. For example, on July 27, 2024, Israeli forces struck Khadija Girls’ School in Deir al-Balah, which had sheltered about 4,000 displaced Palestinians. At least 15 people were killed, with no evidence found by Human Rights Watch of any militant presence at the school, indicating that the strike targeted a civilian site.
The international community has condemned these attacks as violations of international humanitarian law. However, Israel's military often does not provide detailed explanations or evidence regarding these strikes, which fuels ongoing controversy and calls for further accountability.
The crisis in Gaza is not just limited to military attacks. The World Health Organization and UN-backed food security monitors have confirmed that famine is underway in Gaza since August 1, 2025. Israeli officials have determined that Palestinians require 2,279 calories per person per day, which could be supplied by 1.836 kilograms of food, and have controlled and limited the amount of food allowed through crossings.
The Gaza Strip is currently experiencing mass killing, displacement, and famine. The Israeli army's caloric calculations and strategic restrictions have been informed by the desire to keep Palestinians alive without allowing them to thrive. Leaked videos and interviews with Israeli soldiers suggest that the killing of children in Gaza is not the result of battlefield confusion but the product of official policy and tactical instruction.
Medical professionals, human rights researchers, and eyewitnesses have provided evidence of a consistent and coordinated pattern of targeting children, which amounts to war crimes under international humanitarian law. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a logistics network backed by Israel and the United States, has been condemned for failing to provide adequate aid and protection, turning food distribution into a deadly gamble.
At least 154 people, including 89 children, have died from malnutrition since the beginning of the war, with most of those deaths occurring in the past month. Despite mounting evidence, no meaningful international action has been taken to hold the perpetrators accountable.
One heart-wrenching incident involved a two-year-old child, Layan al-Majdalawi, who was shot dead along with her father in November 2023 while attempting to evacuate from Gaza City. The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, B'Tselem, has described Israel's policy as an "official and openly declared policy" of mass starvation, and cited it as evidence that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
As the conflict continues, the international community must take decisive action to protect the lives and rights of Palestinian children and civilians in Gaza.
[1] Human Rights Watch report: https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/08/05/war-children/israel-palestine-gaza-children-pay-heavy-price [2] UNICEF report: https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/gaza_56850.html [3] Amnesty International report: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/07/israel-gaza-unrelenting-attacks-on-civilians-must-stop/
- Turkey's government has expressed strong concern over the ongoing conflict in Gaza, urging the international community to take immediate action to protect Palestinian children and civilians.
- In a recent report on the science and health-and-wellness situation in Gaza, the World Health Organization revealed that the ongoing war-and-conflicts have led to a severe malnutrition crisis, with at least 89 children having died from malnutrition since the beginning of the conflict.
- As the crisis in Gaza unfolds, political debates and discussions regarding the role of Israel's government in the democratization process and its responsibilities towards Palestinians have intensified both domestically and internationally.
