Family members mourn by the body of Islam Tayyim and his son Mohamed who were killed during Israeli bombardment at the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, July 2, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

Gaza City, July 25 (RHC)-- Children in Gaza are being deliberately shot by the invading Israeli soldiers across the besieged Palestinian territory.  That is what Tanya Haj-Hassan, an American-Jordanian pediatric physician who has been to Gaza several times since October, says.

“If I hadn’t been there and witnessed children shot by Israeli forces, I would struggle to believe that summary child executions are happening in Gaza. See [the] full CBS report and then mobilise to stop this,” Haj-Hassan said in a post on X on Wednesday.

She referred to a story by US broadcaster CBS News citing the testimony of Jewish-American surgeon Mark Perlmutter who spent two weeks working in Gaza.

He saw Palestinian children who were shot twice by Israeli forces.  “No toddler gets shot twice by mistake by the world’s best sniper,” Perlmutter said.

Separately, Defense for Children Palestine said Israeli authorities were systematically denying children in Gaza access to adequate food.  “This deliberate deprivation is leading to severe health issues, stunted growth and an alarming increase in child fatality rates,” the group said.

Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza is now treating more than 70 children suffering from malnutrition and dehydration, it said.

Defense for Children Palestine spoke to seven families whose children starved to death, including the mother of three-month-old Anwar al-Khudari.  “There was no formula milk due to the Israeli siege, and there was no milk in my breasts due to the lack of nutrition and the prevention of the entry of aid,” it quoted her as saying.

“I was displaced in al-Shifa Hospital along with my husband. My son cried all night from hunger. His temperature rose, and he started having convulsions. He passed away four days later.”

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization has said 15 children from Gaza were sent to hospitals in Spain.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe says the children are being sent via Cairo with the help of the European Commission, Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and the Spanish government.

“Now getting support for complex conditions including injuries and cancer, they are a small portion of the thousands still needing care,” the WHO’s regional office said.