World Children’s Day: Over 20,000 Palestinian Children Killed in Gaza

DID Press: Hamas announced that more than 20,000 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip over the past two years, with thousands more missing under the rubble or left permanently disabled.

In a statement issued on the occasion, the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) said over 20,000 children in Gaza had been “martyred” during the past two years and called for Israeli leaders to be prosecuted at the International Criminal Court, Marking World Children’s Day.

“The world marks this year’s Children’s Day while war, genocide and deprivation in the Gaza Strip have led to the killing of more than 20,000 children, the disappearance of thousands more beneath destroyed homes, and the injury or permanent disability of thousands of others,” the statement said. It added that more than 30,000 children have lost at least one parent.

Hamas stressed that Palestinian children are facing “a painful and devastating reality” due to Israeli attacks, noting that essential life infrastructure—including access to food, medicine, clean water, and health and education services—has been destroyed.

These actions, the movement said, constitute clear violations of international conventions and disregard for United Nations resolutions.

The statement also referred to the situation of children in the West Bank and the occupied 1948 territories, saying that suffering continues there as well due to “deliberate killings, ethnic cleansing, home demolitions, and denial of education.” According to the group, more than 300 children have been killed in the West Bank over the past two years.

In its concluding remarks, Hamas outlined five key demands from the international community:

Exposing Israeli “crimes” and ensuring proper living conditions for Palestinian children, including access to education, food, and medicine;

Prosecuting Israeli leaders as war criminals at the ICC;

Adding Israel to global lists of violators of children’s rights and ending what it called Israel’s impunity;

Compelling humanitarian organizations to fulfill their responsibility to protect children;

Affirming that Palestinian children remain a symbol of the Palestinian people’s resilience and resistance.

This comes despite the 2025 ceasefire between Hamas and Israel and a prisoner-exchange agreement. The UN Special Rapporteur has continued to report ongoing killings of Palestinians and warned of “genocide.”

Meanwhile, a U.S.-drafted UN Security Council resolution proposing the deployment of an “international stabilization force” to Gaza and the disarmament of the enclave has faced opposition from Hamas and several countries.