A Generation Under Attack: 21,745 Gaza children martyred over three years

In a fact sheet titled “A Generation Under Attack,” published Saturday, the rights group said its teams working in Gaza had monitored and documented the killing of 21,745 children under the age of 18 since the beginning of the war. It also recorded approximately 46,000 injuries among children, including 11,000 cases involving lower-limb amputations.

The center said the impact on Gaza’s children extends far beyond death and physical injury, encompassing hunger, disease, displacement and deprivation of healthcare, education and adequate housing as humanitarian conditions across the Strip continue to deteriorate.

Children dying from hunger and disease

According to the center, 123 children have died from malnutrition and dehydration during the genocide, while 293 deaths have been recorded among newborn and premature babies amid the collapse of healthcare services, power outages and severe shortages of medicines and medical supplies.

The organization said approximately 700,000 children have been deprived of fundamental rights, including access to healthcare, education and adequate housing, since October 7, while around 300,000 children under the age of five have suffered from malnutrition and hunger.

Beyond hunger and disease, children face the threat of epidemics and infectious diseases, as well as displacement, detention and child labor, the center said. These conditions are compounding the humanitarian, social and psychological consequences of the genocide for an entire generation of Palestinian children.

Widespread violations and lost rights

The Himaya Center for Human Rights stressed that protecting children during armed conflicts is not optional but a legal obligation under international human rights law and international humanitarian law.

The center cited protections established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Geneva Conventions and their protocols, as well as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Its fact sheet concluded that the scale and pattern of violations documented against children in Gaza require independent and transparent international investigations, as well as accountability for those responsible for serious violations of international law.

The center called on the international community to take urgent and practical measures to protect children in the Gaza Strip, facilitate the medical evacuation of wounded children for treatment abroad, ensure access to food and medicine, and guarantee the delivery of humanitarian assistance. It also called for efforts to restore Palestinian children’s access to education and healthcare.

The Himaya Center for Human Rights urged the United Nations and the wider international community to act immediately to halt violations against civilians and children in Gaza and ensure that those responsible for serious crimes and violations are held accountable.