The Palestinian Central Agency for Statistics announced today, Thursday, that children make up 43% of the population of Palestine, and that there are 39 thousand orphans in the Gaza Strip with the return of polio to the Strip, indicating this situation is the largest crisis in modern history.
The statistics said – in a statement carried by the Palestinian News Agency “Wafa”, on the eve of the Palestinian Children’s Day – that famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip, as there are 60,000 expected cases of acute malnutrition, adding that the occupation forces have arrested since October 7,055 children in a systematic violation of childhood rights and flagrant violation of international law.
- Today .. Monitor the first square of the moon of Ramadan - the seventh day
- The American Foreign Ministry classifies the Houthi group as a "terrorist organization" - the seventh day
- Hamas: They are committed to the ceasefire agreement and attempted the second stage negotiations - the seventh day
He added that the demographic estimates showed that the population of the State of Palestine amounted to about 5.5 million people at the end of the year 2024, and they were distributed by 3.4 million in the West Bank and 2.1 million in the Gaza Strip and that the Palestinian society is distinguished as a young community, as children under the age of 18 constituted 43% of the total population; That is, approximately 2.38 million children, at 1.39 million in the West Bank and 0.98 million in the Gaza Strip. As for the age group under 15 years, they were 37% of the total population, equivalent to about 2.03 million children, of whom 1.18 million in the West Bank and 0.9 million in the Gaza Strip. The age group under 18, about 47% of the population of Gaza, compared to 41% in the West Bank, while the percentage of children under 15.3% in the Gaza Strip reached 34.8% in the West Bank.
- Hamas: They are committed to the ceasefire agreement and attempted the second stage negotiations - the seventh day
- Today .. Monitor the first square of the moon of Ramadan - the seventh day
He pointed out that, during the 534 days of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip (October 7, 2023 – March 23, 2025), he faced an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, as they formed with women more than 60% of the total victims, and the aggression resulted in the death of 50,021 Palestinians, including 17,954 children, including 274 infants born and martyred under the bombing, and 876 children without a year One, 17 children died as a result of the cold in the tents of the displaced, and 52 children died due to starvation and systematic malnutrition. 113,274 wounded, 69% of them were children and women, while more than 11,200 citizens are still missing, 70% of them are children and women.
In the West Bank, 923 citizens, including 188 children, and 660 wounded children from the beginning of the Israeli aggression until the date of the issuance of this statement.
He pointed out that there is a report issued by the prisoners’ rights institutions that revealed an unprecedented escalation in the arrests of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian children, where during the year 2024, the arrest of at least 700 children was arrested, bringing the total child detained since the outbreak of the war to more than 1,055 children. These children were deprived of their childhood and their right to education, and they were subjected to severe violations during the arrest, which included storming their homes at night, assaulting them with their families, and shooting them, in addition to restricting their hands and feet, innervating their eyes and depriving them of legal assistance, in a clear violation of international law, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Until the beginning of March 2025, the occupation still holds more than 350 captive children. According to the ceasefire agreement in January 2025, 51 children from the West Bank, Jerusalem and Green calligraphy were released, in addition to 44 children from the Gaza Strip, who were arrested after the seventh of October, as part of the first stage of the exchange deal.
He stated that estimates revealed that 39,384 children in the Gaza Strip lost one of their parents or both after 534 days of the Israeli aggression, including about 17,000 children who were deprived of both parents, to find themselves in a harsh confrontation with life without bond or care. These children live in tragic circumstances, as many of them were forced to resort to torn tents or destroyed houses, in the absence of almost complete social care and psychological support.
Also, suffering is not limited to the loss of family and shelter, but rather extends to severe psychological and social crises; They suffer from deep psychological disorders, such as depression, isolation and chronic fear, in the absence of safety and proper guidance, in addition to poor learning and social development, to find themselves prey to child labor, or exploitation in a harsh and unforgettable environment.
On the health system, the Cantalitan Statistics Office transferred a report issued by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) about a catastrophic reality experienced by the children of the Gaza Strip with disabilities as a result of the Israeli aggression, where 15 children were injured daily with permanent disabilities due to the use of internationally banned explosive weapons, bringing the total injuries to 7,065 children, including hundreds of lost their limbs, their eyesight or hearing. He also recorded 4,700 amputations, 18% of which (equivalent to 846 cases) among children, which made the tragedy. These children face a dual disaster due to physical and psychological disabilities, in addition to the collapse of the health system as a result of the destruction of hospitals, and the prevention of the entry of medical supplies and prostheses. The spread of malnutrition also exacerbated bone deformities and obstructs wound healing.
The statistics also referred to another humanitarian catastrophe, which is the return of polio to the Gaza Strip after 25 years, as the Gaza Strip witnessed the spread of the polio virus for the first time in 25 years in July 2024, due to the low vaccination rate from 99% to 86% as a result of difficult health conditions. In response, the World Health Organization, in cooperation with other United Nations organizations and the Palestinian Ministry of Health, carried out three vaccination rounds to combat the spread of the disease. During the first round, 559,161 children were vaccinated between 0 and 10 years using the new NOPV2 oral vaccine, followed by 556,774 children in the second round, while the third round included the vaccination of 602,795 children. These efforts contributed to reducing the spread of the virus despite the ongoing challenges.
- The Israeli occupation shoots towards the homes of the Palestinians, east of Nablus - the seventh day
- Hamas: They are committed to the ceasefire agreement and attempted the second stage negotiations - the seventh day
On education, the Israeli aggression that has continued for 471 days targeted 111 government schools that were completely destroyed, and 241 government schools that were severely damaged, in addition to the exposure of 89 UNRWA schools to bombardment and sabotage, and therefore 700 thousand students were deprived of their basic right to education for the academic year 2024/2025, and about 39 thousand students were deprived of their right to submit a high school diploma for the year Academic 2023/2024.
- The Swiss Parliament refuses to suspend aid to UNRWA - the seventh day
- Today .. Monitor the first square of the moon of Ramadan - the seventh day
- 4 Syrians were killed and others were injured as a result of the occupation shelling of the town of Koya, west of Daraa - the seventh day
The destruction was not limited to the buildings, but also the lives: 12,441 students and 519 martyrs were raised under the shelling, while 19,819 students and 2,703 teachers were injured with varying severity. There is not yet accurate information about the number of school students and educational cadres who were arrested by the Israeli occupation army during land operations in various regions of the Gaza Strip.
