In a report released by UK-based charity, Save the Children, it is estimated that 21,000 kids are currently unaccounted for due to the destructive ongoing conflict in Gaza. It is assumed that a large number of these children have been separated from their families, have been caught in building collapses, have vanished or detained or are resting in unidentifiable gravesites.
The report, which was released on Monday, suggests that about 17,000 children are likely separated from their families or have no one accompanying them, and around 4,000 could be trapped underneath wreckage. There is also an unidentified number located in mass graves. The report mentioned instances of forced disappearances, including children who were taken into custody and relocated to undisclosed locations in Israel, where there have been allegations of inhumane treatment and torture.
Reports from the charity’s child protection teams operating in Gaza indicated a substantial rise in separation cases due to the displacement of a million Palestinians from the continuous Israeli Rafah offensive. This upheaval has heightened the burden on families and communities that are attempting to provide for these misplaced children.
Supporting these lost children and tracing their families, or placing them in safe facilities on a daily basis, is becoming increasingly challenging, suggests a protection specialist cited in the report. The burden is falling on the shoulders of local communities, relatives, and neighbours who are trying their best to meet these children’s needs but are struggling to cope. Many children find themselves alone or surrounded by unfamiliar faces, thus increasing their vulnerability to violence, exploitation, neglect, and abuse.
Save the Children’s regional director, Jeremy Stoner, expressed his concern over families left in the dark regarding the fate of their missing children. He emphasised that no parent should endure the heartbreak of searching through debris and unmarked graves for their child’s remains, and no child should be left defenceless in a war-torn area.
Moreover, the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) released a report on Tuesday stating that 495,000 people, which comprise 20 per cent of Gaza’s population, are experiencing dire levels of acute food insecurity. The situation, caused by an extreme deficiency of food and resulting famine, likely impacts children the most, who make up 50 per cent of Gaza’s total population of 2.3 million Palestinians.
The situation in terms of food security seemed to have improved during the months of March and April when food supplies increased. However, with the increased hostilities in recent weeks, the IPC warns that the risking of a famine outbreak across all of Gaza is very real, as conflict proceeds and humanitarian access remains limited.
The office for press affairs under the Israeli government has not responded to an inquiry by The Irish Times for their reaction on the report by Save the Children.