1,022 INFANTS AMONG MORE THAN 21,500 CHILDREN KILLED DURING GAZA’S 1,000-DAY WAR

Sun 05 July 2026:

The Government Media Office in Gaza said more than 21,500 children, including 1,022 infants, have been killed since the war in the Gaza Strip began on 7 October 2023, as the conflict reached its 1,000th day.

International organisations continue to warn of a worsening humanitarian crisis and a rising civilian death toll.

According to figures released by the office, the total number of Palestinians killed has risen to 73,066, while 173,514 others have been injured, including more than 44,500 children. Around 9,500 Palestinians remain missing and are believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings.

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The office also said that more than 90 per cent of buildings across the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed, while around 80 per cent of the territory is now under Israeli control, according to its official data.

Separately, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said more than 11,000 children have suffered what it described as “life-changing” injuries, including up to 4,000 cases of limb amputations, many of which were carried out under extremely difficult medical conditions.

Lost generation

A report issued by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) on April 5, 2026, covering the period from October 8, 2023, to April 1, 2026, showed that children were among the groups most affected by Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

According to the report, the Israeli army killed 21,283 children and injured 44,486 others, representing 26% of all casualties.

Among the dead children were 450 babies born during the war, 1,029 children who did not reach their first birthday, and 5,031 children under the age of 5, figures the PCBS said reflect “a true extermination of a generation that had not yet begun life.”

The report said 10,500 children suffered life-changing injuries, while more than 1,000 children underwent amputations.

About 4,000 children also face the risk of death unless urgent medical evacuation is provided for treatment outside Gaza, amid the collapse of the health system and shortages of medicines and medical supplies, according to the report.

Anadolu also documented several stories of children that became seared into public memory during the genocide, some of which I will list briefly.

. Premature babies killed: On Nov. 10, 2023, the Israeli army stormed Al-Nasr Children’s Hospital in western Gaza City and forced medical teams to leave under fire, while refusing to evacuate premature babies, leading to the deaths of five of them, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.

Starving children

During the same period, 157 children died from hunger and malnutrition, while 25 others died from cold and freezing conditions inside displacement tents.

Despite the ceasefire agreement, the PCBS, citing a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said more than 3,700 children aged between 6 and 59 months were admitted to malnutrition treatment programs in February 2026.

Among them, more than 600 children were suffering from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition requiring urgent medical and nutritional treatment.

Although February’s figures marked a decline compared with January, when more than 4,600 children were admitted for treatment, including 890 severe cases, the numbers remained an indicator of the depth of the continuing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza.

Data showed that 64% of children consumed only two food groups or fewer per day, while more than 90% did not receive the minimum level of dietary diversity.

More than 60% of children also suffer from severe food poverty, threatening their physical and mental development during a critical stage of life.

Anadolu documented examples of children who died as a result of Israel’s starvation policy, malnutrition and lack of treatment.

58,000 orphaned children

The PCBS cited UNICEF as saying that more than 58,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both parents as a result of the war, leaving them to face harsh living conditions without family support or adequate care.

These children face displacement, poverty and hunger, while some have been forced to carry responsibilities far beyond their age amid the absence of a safe environment, education and healthcare.

Human rights reports warn that the loss of parents, along with continued displacement and deprivation, threatens to leave long-term effects on children’s psychological and social development.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on October 8, 2023, Israeli attacks have killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured more than 173,000 others, in addition to causing widespread destruction to about 90% of Gaza’s civilian infrastructure.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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