Seven children were killed in the past few hours by Israeli occupation forces while waiting in line to collect drinking water from a distribution point in Gaza.

This horrifying incident, confirmed by UNICEF’s Executive Director, is not the first of its kind. Just a few days earlier, other women and children were killed while waiting for food aid.

These bloody events, unfolding amid heavy international silence, prompted the UNICEF Executive Director to call on Israel to review its rules of engagement and respect international humanitarian law, especially the principle of protecting civilians in conflict zones.

Despite the organization documenting the rising number of child casualties, its appeals have been met only with further escalation in violence.

UNICEF’s spokesperson in Palestine, Kazem Abu Khalaf, stated that no fewer than 27 children are killed daily in Gaza since Israel declared war on the territory in October 2023, stressing that there is no justification for such excessive killing.

In another stark indicator of the disaster’s scale, more than 5,000 children in Gaza were recorded as suffering from malnutrition in May alone. This shocking figure reflects the collapse of the food and health systems due to the ongoing blockade and restrictions on essential supplies, including infant formula.

According to documented figures from Gaza’s Government Media Office, in cooperation with UNICEF and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 18,000 children have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s assault on Gaza.

Additionally, 66 children were reported to have died from malnutrition alone in the past month.

This reality leaves no doubt: children in Gaza are being driven toward death by hunger and thirst, or their lives are being taken in places that should be safe—such as food and water distribution centers.

What is happening is not merely a blatant violation of international humanitarian law, but an ongoing crime against childhood that demands immediate and effective action from the international community—action that goes beyond statements of condemnation toward real measures to end this escalating humanitarian catastrophe.