Israeli forces have killed nearly a dozen Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip in the last 48 hours, while thousands more face the threat of imminent starvation amid an intensifying humanitarian crisis.
On Sunday, four-year-old Mohammed Yassine joined dozens of other children who have starved to death in recent days as the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that more than 70,000 children in Gaza face acute levels of malnutrition.
As well as causing starvation deaths, Israel has intensified its bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza, killing some 600 people in nearly a week.
Eleven-year-old Yaqeen Hammad, a popular social media influencer, and nine of Dr Alaa Amir al-Najjar’s 10 children were also killed in separate Israeli air raids. Al-Najjar’s remaining child, 11-year-old Adam, is in critical condition in an intensive care unit.
The attacks come amid an Israeli blockade for almost three months that has choked off access to essential food, fuel, and medical supplies. Aid agencies warn that thousands of children are now at risk of death from starvation.
Children account for 31 percent of Palestinians confirmed killed during Israel’s 19 months of war on Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. This figure excludes deaths which have been reported but the victims remain unidentified, suggesting the real toll is higher.
A report commissioned by the United Nations also highlighted Israel’s disproportionate violence against children through targeting densely populated areas, with repeated air raids on residential buildings contributing to the rising child death toll.
At least 22 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks across the Gaza Strip since dawn on Sunday, according to Al Jazeera Arabic.
Below are some of the children killed in Israeli attacks:
Yaqeen Hammad
Known for her smile and volunteer work in Gaza, Yaqeen Hammad was killed after Israel shelled al-Baraka in Deir el-Balah, northern Gaza, on Friday night.
The 11-year-old influencer and her older brother, Mohamed Hammad, delivered food, toys and clothing to displaced families, the Palestine Chronicle reports. She also played an active role in the Ouena Collective – a Gaza-based nonprofit group dedicated to aid and humanitarian relief.
Messages of grief and tributes from activists, Yaqeen’s followers and journalists poured in after news of her death spread online.
“Her body may be gone, but her impact remains a beacon of humanity,” wrote Mahmoud Bassam, a photojournalist in Gaza.
“Instead of being at school and enjoying her childhood, she was active on Instagram and participating in campaigns to help others in Gaza. No words. Absolutely no words,” another tribute read on X.
Mohammed Yassine
Activists and Palestinian platforms shared on social media painful scenes of Mohammed Yassine on a hospital bed.
Appearing in a video, holding Yassine’s body, Mahmoud Basal of Gaza’s Civil Defence said: “Mohammed Yassine died from hunger, a direct result of the occupation’s prevention of food and medical aid from entering Gaza.”
“Mohammed was not the first child, and the fear has become a certainty that he won’t be the last,” he added.
Dr Alaa al-Najjar’s nine children
An Israeli attack on the home of al-Najjar on Friday killed nine of her children and critically injured 11-year-old Adam.
Sidar, Luqman, Sadin, Reval, Ruslan, Jubran, Eve, Rakan and Yahya all died – aged between seven months and 12 years, Gaza’s Government Media Office said.
Al-Najjar is a paediatrician at the southern city’s Nasser Hospital, where her husband is receiving care after being critically injured in the attack.
“It is unbelievable,” said Ahmad al-Farra, head of the hospital’s paediatrics department, of the attack’s impact.
“You can’t imagine the shock that [al-Najjar] had when she heard about that [attack]. But up until now, she is trying to be near her son and her husband to survive.”