Gaza has become a "graveyard for children" as the toll of Israel's war on the strip rises to 8,525 martyrs.

   

  The UNICEF has warned that the strip is turning into a "graveyard for children" with nearly half of the casualties being children. Ashraf al-Qidra, a spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health run by Hamas in Gaza, said Tuesday that the death toll had risen to 8,525, including 3,542 children and 2,187 women.

Al-Qidra, speaking at a press conference at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, added that the number of wounded had reached 21,543, while the ministry had received more than 1,000 reports of missing persons still under the rubble, including 1,100 children.

He confirmed that the Israeli army had committed more than 18 massacres in the past few hours.

Al-Qidra also pointed out that 130 health workers were among the martyrs, noting that 25 ambulances had been taken out of service due to being targeted and destroyed by the Israeli army.

He added that the Israeli airstrikes and bombardment, along with the fuel shortage that Israel prevents from entering the strip, have also led to the closure of up to 57 health facilities, 15 hospitals, and 32 healthcare centers.

Israel launched its devastating war on the Gaza Strip in retaliation for Hamas' surprise attack, which killed 1,400 people on October 7.

Al-Qidra warned that the lives of the wounded, patients, medical staff, and the displaced were in serious danger due to the repeated targeting of Jerusalem Hospital in Gaza City by the Israeli army, which had repeatedly threatened to bomb it, demanding its immediate evacuation.

He called on institutions and humanitarian organizations to pressure Israel to respect international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention, which calls for the neutrality of the health system from threats and targeting during armed conflicts.

He pointed out that the main power plants of Al-Shifa Hospital and Al-Indonesian Hospital have begun the countdown to their shutdown by the end of tomorrow, Wednesday, due to the fuel shortage.

Al-Qidra urged all parties to intervene immediately to save the health system and provide it with fuel, as well as medicines and medical supplies so that it can resume and continue to work to save the lives of thousands of patients and wounded. In a related context, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that the Gaza Strip has begun to turn into a "graveyard for children" with the increasing number of children among the victims of the ongoing Israeli bombardment. UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said during his weekly press conference at the organization's headquarters in Geneva that the UN agency is concerned about the increasing deaths in the Gaza Strip, which he said has begun to turn into a graveyard for children.

Elder reiterated the call for an immediate ceasefire to allow the delivery and distribution of humanitarian and medical aid and others to the people of the strip, who are now in desperate need of them under the blockade imposed by Israel.

He said that the lack of medical care has become another reason for the deaths of children in Gaza, in addition to the Israeli bombardment.

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