Statistics show that the planet is suffering the greatest number of conflicts since World War II (1939-1945). The impact of armed conflicts on children around the world has reached devastating and probably unprecedented levels in 2024, revealed a recent evaluation by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The numbers contrast when some media outlets circulate images promoting a happy childhood; however, there is a generation of children who have become collateral damage in armed conflicts. One of the most heartbreaking cases is that of the children in Gaza.

Palestine’s representative to the UN, Riyad Mansour, made a moving intervention on Friday at a session of the Security Council which addressed the destruction and collapse of the health system in the Gaza Strip due to Israel’s war.

Demanding respect for life and an immediate and unconditional end to Israeli aggression and genocide in Gaza, the diplomat said that “Palestinian children are living in hell on earth.”

Since the beginning of the aggression on October 7th, 2023, more than 45,500 Palestinians have died in the Strip, around 108,000 have been injured and thousands of bodies are estimated to be lying under the rubble. Most of the fatal victims are women and children.

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