One Child Martyred Every 15 Minutes in Gaza

No Peace Without Justice and Equality

Palestinian Children Must Get Their Full Rights Now

The following call to action is issued by the “Arab Network for Early Childhood” (ANECD) and the national Arab networks for childhood in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Yemen.

During more than two weeks of Israeli airstrikes concentrated on the Gaza Strip, all provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions, chiefly its fourth convention to protect civilians, have been brutally and blatantly violated. International organizations have described these violations as reaching the level of war crimes. The call to action below outlines the most significant violations committed by the Israeli occupation against Palestinian children in Gaza, specifically, in accordance with international humanitarian law applied during armed conflicts. It also calls to end the Israeli massacres and violations and provide necessary aid.

humanitarian law applied during armed conflicts. It also calls to end the Israeli massacres and violations and provide necessary aid.

Firstly: Killing and Injuring Children

• International Laws and Agreements:
• Principles of Distinction and Proportionality require parties engaged in armed conflict to always distinguish between combatants and civilians, forbidding attacks against the latter.

The principle of proportionality prohibits military attacks if they are expected to cause excessive harm to civilians or damage to civilian infrastructure compared to the direct and concrete military advantages anticipated from the attack. This principle implicitly involves an obligation to assess the context before determining the legitimacy of an action. The assessment lies within the responsibility of those conducting the action.

These two principles are crucial in the laws of armed conflict and are part of the Geneva Conventions and their additional protocols. They are also a part of customary international humanitarian law.

• The use of indiscriminate weapons such as mines, cluster munitions, and chemical weapons contradicts the laws of armed conflict and violates numerous international agreements.
• The parties in conflict are obligated to provide the necessary medical care to the wounded and sick when circumstances allow. Children are granted special protection according to the Geneva Conventions, including the commitment of parties to give priority to the care of vulnerable groups, including children, during the conflict.
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibit collective punishment against children. Deliberate killing can constitute a war crime.
• International human rights laws affirm the responsibility of states to ensure the respect, protection, and fulfillment of these rights.

Current Israeli Violations in Gaza:

• More than 2,300 children have been martyred among over 5,700 martyrs, and thousands of children have been injured among approximately 16,000 wounded, with reports of more than 830 children trapped under the rubble. These numbers are on the rise. At a time when the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory counted the deaths of 6,734 Palestinians, including 2,813 children, and UNICEF announced that the child victims in Gaza are “a growing stain on our collective conscience”.
• 70% of the victims are children, women, and the elderly.
• A complete annihilation of more than 400 families, erasing them from registration records.
• The bombing of residential buildings and homes with civilians inside without prior warning.
• 50% of the housing units in Gaza Strip were damaged, and more than 100,000 housing units became uninhabitable, according to United Nations data. While the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor stated that the number of completely-destroyed units reached 39,240, and more than one million and 200 thousand housing units were damaged.
• The Israeli bombing of places of worship where civilians have sought refuge, including the recent bombing of the historic St. Porphyrius Orthodox Church, one of the world’s oldest churches, resulting in casualties. The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory reported that the Israeli bombing destroyed 34 mosques and 3 churches.
• The bombing of bakeries in light of the great scarcity of food and vital supplies inside the Gaza Strip, and the death of a number of Palestinians during the bombing.
• Bombing markets where Palestinians, including children, are gathering, leading to the death of dozens.
• 324 industrial facilities were destroyed by Israeli bombing
• Warning of an environmental catastrophe and the spread of epidemics due to a large number of martyrs’ bodies under the rubble. There has been an increase in infectious and skin diseases and a significant rise in cases of waterborne diseases like chickenpox among displaced persons due to contaminated water.
• The use of internationally-banned weapons such as white phosphorus.
• Testimonies from medical teams on the ground reporting severe burns and skin melting injuries unprecedented in their experience on patients’ bodies, making them difficult to treat, and a call for international institutions to disclose the nature of the weapon used in skin melting and to provide urgent care.
• Dropping 4,000 tons of explosives on the Gaza Strip (equivalent to a quarter of a nuclear bomb), according to Israeli statements, meaning that the number of explosives has significantly increased since then. According to government estimates in Gaza, the Israeli occupation has, to date, bombed the Gaza Strip with more than 12 thousand tons of explosives, at a rate of 33 tons per square kilometer in the Strip, while the Euro-Mediterranean Observatory reported that the rate reached 22 destructive missiles per square kilometer.
• Targeting journalists while they were covering events in the field, leading to the martyrdom of 18 journalists and the destruction of 81 press headquarters .
• Vetoing United Nations’ Security Council resolutions related to a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza by the United States.

Second: Attacks on Schools and Hospitals

1. International Laws and Agreements:

• The special protection afforded to hospitals, schools, medical staff, and basic healthcare and humanitarian aid providers for civilians dates back to the early days of international humanitarian law, with the 1864 Geneva Convention and the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions.
• This protection is comprehensive, and it is incumbent upon all parties to a conflict to refrain from targeting and attacking schools and hospitals in the midst of civilian populations.
• Targeting and attacking schools and healthcare facilities constitute violations of international humanitarian laws, including customary international law. Such actions can amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Fourth Geneva Convention explicitly prohibits targeting civilian structures, emphasizing the importance of schools and hospitals for civilians, especially children, as they often serve as shelters for civilians and meet the needs of children during conflicts.
• The deliberate targeting of schools and hospitals in the absence of military necessity is prohibited under the general legal principle of distinguishing between civilians and their objects and military objectives.
• The international humanitarian law for civil rights dictates that, if there is doubt about whether a school or hospital is a military target, it should be presumed that a building primarily used for civilian purposes is a civilian object.
• The International Court of Justice emphasizes, within the framework of international humanitarian law, the importance of protecting civilians and civilian structures.
• Targeting and destroying schools and hospitals obstructs the realization of children’s rights to education and health, as established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Current Israeli Violations:

• Bombing medical complexes and hospitals, which house hundreds of wounded, children, and displaced families. 12 out of 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip are out of service due to repeated bombings and fuel shortages. The Euro-Mediterranean Observatory mentioned that 19 hospitals and 48 clinics have been damaged.
• Bed Occupancy Rates in Gaza’s hospitals rose to over 150%, forcing hospitals to set up multiple tents to accommodate the wounded and patients. Physicians are unable to provide care to children and patients due to the overcrowding caused by Israeli bombings.
• The World Health Organization announced that about two-thirds of health facilities in Gaza have now stopped working. The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the health system in the Gaza Strip is out of work.It is to mention that the healthcare facilities in Gaza Strip were already dilapidated due to 17 years of siege.
• The deliberate Israeli bombing of the al-Ahli Baptist Hospital resulted in the deaths of over 500 Palestinians and injuries to thousands, most of whom are children, women, and medical staff. The Israeli side failed to provide conclusive evidence of its non-involvement in the bombing
• Repeated attacks on residential buildings in the vicinity of hospitals.
• Human Rights Watch has announced that the current, unlawful bombing of the Gaza Strip and the blockade will result in the deaths of an unspecified number of injured and sick children, as well as many civilians in need of medical care.
• 36 ambulances were destroyed, 57 health workers were killed, and 100 of them were injured.
• The destruction of over 25 ambulances and the death of more than 15 paramedics and firefighting teams members.
• Requesting the evacuation of hospitals that house thousands of patients and displaced people with the intention of bombing them, a blatant violation of international humanitarian laws.
• 89 schools were damaged by Israeli bombing.
• Targeting UNRWA schools where children and displaced families seek shelter.
• The death of 35 UNRWA employees in Israeli bombings, including more than 14 teachers, with the most recent being six employees within the past 24 hours.
• Damage to 38 UNRWA facilities due to the current Israeli bombings.

Third: Prevention of Humanitarian Aid Access

• International Laws and Customs:
• Parties at war must allow and facilitate aid and relief to every civilian in need. In cases of military occupation, such as in Gaza, the Fourth Geneva Convention obligates the occupying power to utilize all means at its disposal to ensure the food and medical supplies of the population, and the use of starvation as a method of warfare is prohibited, constituting a war crime, according to Human Rights Watch.
• The Fourth Geneva Convention and its Additional Protocols prohibit attacks on humanitarian workers assisting children, which can amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• Refusing the provision of assistance to civilians, including children, by any party based on arbitrary grounds is prohibited, and every party is required to refrain from impeding the delivery of humanitarian supplies to civilians.
• During the provision of assistance, children are entitled to special care, and the necessary care and assistance they require must be provided.
• The Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that refugee children should receive appropriate protection and humanitarian assistance. International humanitarian law requires humanitarian workers to have unimpeded access to refugees, displaced persons, and homeless people, including children.
• All relevant parties must grant unhindered access to and facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance, and individuals involved in the provision of such assistance must have speedy access to those in need and not be hindered.
• The protection of all humanitarian workers and their equipment is one of the oldest fundamental principles of the law of armed conflict. They enjoy special protection under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols. Parties to the conflict must ensure the freedom of humanitarian workers who are recognized as engaged in the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Current Israeli Violations:

• Intensifying the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007, further isolating it, and starving its population, alongside the brutal military escalation.
• Preventing the opening of a humanitarian crossing for aid.
• Blocking the access of humanitarian and medical aid to the Gaza Strip for over two weeks, then allowing a very limited number of aid trucks to enter the southern part of the Gaza Strip only, which is entirely disproportionate to the actual needs, and imposing stringent conditions on them.
• A complete cutoff of electricity, water, food, medicines, and medical supplies.
• Denying the entry of fuel as part of humanitarian aid, which poses a serious risk to the lives of patients and the wounded and threatens the continuity of life-saving services.
• Preventing fuel from entering hospitals endangers the lives of approximately 130 premature babies in incubators in Gaza’s hospitals, 1,100 patients with kidney failure, and 140 patients on artificial ventilators.
• About 50,000 pregnant women are currently trapped in the Gaza Strip, and about 160 women will give birth every day amid the bombing. Women face severe challenges in accessing safe delivery services, especially as hospitals are overcrowded with sick and wounded people and medicines are running out.
• International organizations have called on the Israeli government to immediately lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip, allow all types of aid to enter, and enable the evacuation of wounded and sick civilians to receive medical treatment elsewhere. According to Human Rights Watch, collective punishment of the entire population is a war crime.
• The mass displacement of Gaza’s population, with approximately one million 300 thousand people displaced since the escalation began, with over half a million of them taking refuge in UNRWA facilities.
• Bombing of homes and facilities in the southern part of the Gaza Strip (southern Gaza Valley), which the Israeli military described as a safe area for the displaced.The most recent of which was the bombing of Rafah and Khan Yunis Governorates, located in the south, and targeting a gas station in the latter, leaving dozens of martyrs and wounded.
• The Israeli occupation army threatened the residents of the northern Gaza Strip to leave or consider them members of a “terrorist organization,” which means stripping these residents of their civilian status and legitimizing and justifying their targeting and killing, at a time when international organizations denounced the Israeli side’s taking this action.
• Targeting humanitarian workers, including those working for international organizations, and killing several of them.
• The severe suffering of children who have survived the physical, psychological, and emotional consequences of intense Israeli violence.
• The World Health Organization warnings that the situation in Gaza is spiraling out of control.
• Evacuation of international organization staff and associations and the cessation of development programs and psychosocial support projects.
• Deliberately misleading the international public opinion, depriving Palestinians and their supporters of their right to express themselves and communicate their suffering to the world by cutting off electricity and the internet, bombing communication networks, and restricting social media and media outlets.

In addition to the tragic situation in Gaza, Palestinians in the West Bank are facing escalating threats to their lives since the start of the war. More than 100 Palestinians, including children, have been killed in deliberate attacks while traveling within the West Bank or during confrontations involving Israeli forces and armed settlers using live ammunition. Over 1,200 Palestinians, including children, have been arrested, and reports from organizations dealing with prisoner affairs indicate a surge in violence against prisoners, including severe beatings and deliberate breaking of their limbs, especially since October 7th.

Hundreds of Palestinian children are subjected to arrest, detention, and military trials under what the occupation calls “administrative detention,” which allows for their indefinite detention without charges, a clear violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Israeli forces have additionally demolished dozens of homes in the West Bank under the pretext of lack of permits or as a punitive measure against the families of detainees. They have also confiscated and razed tens of dunums of Palestinian agricultural land and olive orchards without justification nor prior notice, citing the need to provide protection to settlers.

Palestinians in Israel (living within the 1948 borders) are suffering from oppression and threats to their families and children due to their support for their besieged brethren in Gaza.

In response to these dire conditions, the “Arab Network for Early Childhood” held an emergency meeting with representatives of national networks for early childhood in Arab countries, as well as members of the network’s executive committee and advisory council. The aim was to discuss ways to support families and children in Palestine in general, and Gaza in particular. Based on this, the participants decided to launch an urgent call to action, requesting the following:

• An immediate cessation of the attacks, shelling, and massacres against children and families in Gaza and the West Bank.
• Pressure to hold Israel accountable before the International Court of Justice for its violations of international law, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Geneva Conventions. Israel has committed war crimes, including adopting a policy of starvation and displacement against children and families.
• Expedited measures to secure humanitarian corridors for the delivery of urgent aid after the depletion of medications, medical supplies, water, food, and fuel.
• Affirmation of the right of Gaza’s residents to access electricity and the internet for they are crucial within hospitals and relief operations.
• Protection of the right to access information by transparently documenting Israeli violations without double standards.
• End the suppression of demonstrations and rallies in support of Palestinians in countries that have banned such activities, based on the freedom of opinion and expression, and the organization of demonstrations and rallies in support of Palestinians, and condemnation of Israeli crimes and official American and Western positions supporting the Israeli authorities’ crimes in Palestine.

Donation Campaign for Gaza’s Children:

The “Arab Network for Early Childhood” and the national Arab networks for early childhood in Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, and Yemen appeal to all institutions, organizations, and individuals to contribute to collecting donations that improve the health, psychological, and educational conditions of Palestinian children and families through the transfer of funds to the “Palestinian Network for Early Childhood” account:

Our Bank Details- عنوان البنك المستفيد

BENEFICIARY NAME: JUZOOR-PALESTINIAN NETWORK FOR CHILDHOOD
ACCOUNT NAME: JUZOOR _ Palestinian network
BENEFICIARY ACCOUNT NO.: PS14PALS047507515510013000001
ADDRESS: ALBIREH, WEST BANK, PALESTINE

BANK OF PALESTINE PLC
ALBIREH BRANCH
ALBIREH, WEST BANK, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES
SWIFT CODE: PALSPS22
BANK NO.: 89
BRANCH NO.: 475

بنك فلسطين
فرع البيرة
البيرة، الضفة الغربية، الأراضي الفلسطينية
رمز سويفت: PALSPS22

رقم البنك: 89

رقم الفرع: 475

Our U.S.D Correspondent- عنوان البنك الوسيط
CITIBANK
NEW YORK- U.S.A
SWIFT CODE: CITIUS33
ABA 021000089