Ramadan differs from other times of the year in its altered daily routines, including waking up early to partake in the pre-dawn meal (Suhoor) before fasting. During Ramadan, many families, including children, rise together to enjoy Suhoor and perform the morning prayer, fostering a sense of community and shared tradition.
Read Also...:
'They wanted to be doctors, teachers': Gazans grieve children killed in massive Israeli strikes
03-20, 2025
Israel-Hamas war: UN says worker killed in Gaza as air strikes resume
03-20, 2025
British MPs call for sanctions on UAE officials over detention of UK national
03-20, 2025
Names and faces of children killed in Israel's latest offensive on Gaza
03-20, 2025However, in the early hours of Tuesday, Israeli bombings resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as they were having Suhoor. Some were dining with their families, while others were asleep in makeshift refugee camps, awaiting the preparation of food, highlighting the vulnerability of those displaced and seeking refuge.
Rachel Cummings of Save the Children in Gaza stated, "People were killed in their beds, women were killed preparing food." She pointed out that no evacuation notices were issued before the attack, describing it as a full-scale bombing of the entire Gaza Strip, emphasizing the indiscriminate nature of the assault and its devastating impact on civilians.
The timing of the attack was reportedly carefully planned, with Israel choosing to launch the raid in the early morning hours because they believed "Hamas members" would be gathered for Suhoor. Israeli officials maintain that the targets were Hamas commanders and infrastructure. However, of the 436 people killed on Tuesday, over 180 were children, raising serious questions about the proportionality and justification of the military action.
"I'm not going to spend a lot of time focusing on what the Israeli military claims the targets were," said Miranda Cleland of Defense for Children International - Palestine (DCIP). "Instead, we should focus on the evidence: 183 children killed, almost half of yesterday's deaths, tells me that this is a war on children. 18,000 children killed since October 7, 2023, tells me that this is a war on children, regardless of what the Israeli military says," underscoring the disproportionate impact of the conflict on the youngest and most vulnerable members of society.
According to records from Defense for Children International - Palestine, Tuesday marked the highest number of child fatalities in the Gaza Strip by Israel since 2000. Over the past 17 months of the war, the organization has been monitoring child fatalities provided by the Gaza Health Ministry, but had never witnessed a day as devastating as March 18, reflecting the escalating violence and its dire consequences for children.
Ammar Ammar of Unicef stated, "Gaza has become a graveyard for children. Children are being killed, injured, buried under rubble, frozen and starved, they are experiencing horrors that no child should ever have to endure." This paints a grim picture of the humanitarian crisis and the immense suffering inflicted upon children in the conflict zone, emphasizing the urgent need for protection and assistance.
For those children who have survived the 18-month long Israeli war, they face displacement and the deprivation of basic needs. Unicef estimates that all one million children in Gaza need mental health and psychosocial support. Ammar stated, "No child can come out of months of relentless bombardment without the imprint of trauma," highlighting the long-term psychological consequences of the conflict on children's well-being and development.
Cleland added that Israeli attacks have left minors with lifelong disabilities without proper follow-up care, prosthetics, or physical therapy. Regarding Tuesday's attack, activists made it clear that Israel has an obligation to protect children. Ammar stated, "Under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, children are entitled to special protection. They should never be a target." Cleland added, "Yesterday's attack not only violated negotiated ceasefire agreements, but also international humanitarian law prohibiting indiscriminate attacks. Bombing densely populated civilian areas is, by definition, indiscriminate," emphasizing the legal and ethical responsibilities of all parties to protect civilians, especially children, during armed conflict.
