Smoke plumes rising above buildings during an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip yesterday.
Doha, Qatar: Education Above All Foundation (EAA) has called for all parties to immediately cease acts that cause serious harm to children. Killing, abductions, bombing and the deliberate deprivation of food and medicine, bombing schools and hospitals constitute grave violations against children, and if deliberate, they are war crimes.
The statement said that in Gaza, even before the present hostilities, 1.1 Million children were already in need of humanitarian aid. Since the start of present hostilities in Gaza, CNN is reporting the most recent figures 583 children killed and 1,901 maimed and injured. The expectation is that this figure will climb very quickly unless there is an immediate end to hostilities.
The present siege, which has cut supplies of food, medical supplies and energy from entering Gaza, will cause hunger and starvation to these children. Starvation of civilian populations as a tactic of war is a war crime.
