It is impossible to speak in this place. Mother talks in a sarcastic manner, does not speak in a normal tone, father does not like to participate in discussions. Van Daan becomes aggressive, while Dussel remains silent. And us? We are not allowed to think. Surprise, surprise. You can't even have your say!'

These are the lines written by 13-year-old Anne Frank in her diary on March 7, 1944, while hiding in a secret room to save her life during World War II. In it, she expressed the pain of having to stay in hiding for almost 2 years during World War and ethnic genocide. 5 months after writing these lines, Frank and his Jewish family were arrested by the Nazis. 

About 6 months later, Frank died in a refugee camp in Germany. When I read the diary of that girl now, I think how human society can be so distorted, it is hard to believe! But eight decades later, for the children of Palestine and Gaza in particular, that tragedy of history has returned. According to the report of the United Nations and some other relief organizations, more than 17,000 children have lost their lives due to the Israel-Hamas war that has been going on for almost 20 months. 

Palestinian authorities claim that 274 of these are newborns and more than 800 children under the age of 1. In the same period, more than 50 children died of starvation and 17 children died due to cold in the tents kept for the displaced, according to the data of the World Health Organization. 

According to UNICEF, 71,000 children and 17,000 pregnant women are victims of severe malnutrition. Since the entry of relief materials has been blocked for 11 weeks, the hunger and thirst and suffering of 2 million Gazans are increasing day by day. According to Human Rights Watch, nearly one million children of Gaza have been displaced and all children living in Gaza are suffering from physical or mental problems due to some form of violence.

The war that started on October 7, 2023 has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinian civilians. More than 150,000 children were injured and mutilated in the war.

is predicted. Thousands of children have become destitute after losing their parents in the war. Children injured by abandoned weapons and psychologically traumatized by ongoing conflict and displacement have not been accounted for. With no sign of stopping the war, the issues of children's rights to education, nutritious food, character development, clean environment and growing up with their families have been completely neglected.

Displaced woman Yasmin's statement reminiscent of Ann Frank's diary is included in the report of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). "They have to work with plastic bags instead of diapers for children. This has increased the risk of skin infection," she said, who lives in the Khan Yunus area of ​​Gaza. "My child has stopped laughing, he doesn't even go to play, he doesn't like to drink milk. Always sleeps and sleeps.' 

The experience of thousands of mothers like Yasmin shows that the situation of children who have not been attacked and who have not lost their parents is becoming miserable day by day. The latest appeals and reports of OCHA and UNICEF have announced that if the current situation is extended, 470,000 people (22 percent of Gaza's population) will fall victim to severe hunger and malnutrition in the next 5 months. According to UN agencies, more than 14,000 children are at risk of severe malnutrition.

Since the Israeli blockade began on March 2, 57 children have reportedly died of malnutrition in Gaza. The Palestinian authorities have also been saying that if the current food embargo is not stopped, the lives of more than 14,000 children will be at immediate risk. The Israel-Hamas war, which is being 'live' in front of the world on TV and social networks, has increased the concern about protecting children and civilians. 

The number of children orphaned, displaced or killed in World War II, which ended shortly before the founding of Israel in 1947, was approximately 13 million. After this kind of tragedy, although there are child rights treaties, international humanitarian law, establishment of international criminal courts, legal and global reform initiatives against the use of children in conflicts, the history is that most children are killed in war.  Like

- In the Rwandan genocide of 1994, there are data that nearly 800,000 people died within 100 days and 300,000 children were among them. The Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and has recently ended, has also affected children. According to a UNICEF report, over 12,000 children have been injured or killed in the 10 years of the Syrian civil war. The report mentions that one child becomes a victim of war every 8 hours. 

During the Syrian civil war, more than 5,700 children were recruited as soldiers, and 1,300 schools and hospitals were attacked. During the war, children also suffer from long-term problems such as amputation, rape, harassment, and psychological complications. 

Since 2015, children are also being persecuted in Yemen, which has been caught in continuous conflict and violence under many names. According to data from Save the Children, between 2015 and 2018, about 85,000 children under the age of five died in Yemen due to conflict, starvation or epidemics. Even now there are more than 6 lakh children suffering from acute malnutrition. According to the World Food Program, 120,000 of them are in critical condition. Yemen's healthcare system has collapsed. Food crises and disease epidemics have deprived children of basic services and life-saving facilities.

The number of children killed, injured, and used in dangerous war work in the last year's Russia-Ukraine war is thousands. The number of children who have suffered in the civil wars of Congo, Sudan, and Libya on the African continent has alarmed those who are sensitive to human rights and humanitarian laws worldwide. A Hamas attack on 7 October 2023 also killed 37 children. On that day, 36 children were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. Israel-Hamas war has been going on since that day. 

In the international media and in the Western debate, the attack on Israeli children is depicted as horrific, but the Palestinians who die in Gaza are often criticized for being a "footnote". Historian and author William Darimple said in X, "It is a tragic and terrible thing for innocent civilians to lose their lives anywhere." But when the killing of two Israelis is making global headlines, why are the 61 people who were killed in Gaza on the same day not even in the 'footnote'?' 

Concern for Gaza's children 

Protests are mounting over Israeli policy of withholding relief supplies for the nearly 2.1 million people in Gaza and attacking emergency service workers. Before his death, Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church, who had daily video calls with the residents of Gaza, said, "I am concerned about the children who have been injured, maimed and killed during the war, as well as the innocents and those whose futures have been destroyed in the conflict." I am concerned about the mothers who have lost their children in the conflict and the children who have lost their mothers.' 

The representatives and officials of the United Nations agencies, which stood for relief and rescue even when their personnel and infrastructure were attacked during the war, have been protesting Israel's attitude towards the war and the act of turning children into stars. Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special envoy, satirized Israel's claims about the safe zone and said, "How can a child without legs escape to the so-called safe zone?" 

Israel has been attacking refugee camps, designated safe areas and Palestinians living in displaced tents, according to international media. It has come out that children are the most affected and some even die from burns. 

World Health Organization representative Dr. Rick Piperkorn has expressed concern about malnutrition among children in the Palestinian territories occupied by Hamas. People here are trapped in a cycle where they are surrounded by lack of nutritious food, disease and malnutrition. Without access to adequate nutritious food, clean water and healthcare, an entire generation appears to be permanently affected.' 

UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell and other UN officials have also expressed serious concern about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. According to them, thousands of children in Palestine and Gaza are at risk of death due to the blockade imposed by Israel for about three months. 

In a conversation with the BBC, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher pointed out the need for urgent humanitarian access, noting that hunger is deepening in Gaza. Just two days ago, Britain suspended trade talks with Israel over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced the decision and expressed a strong reaction to the parliament calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza "unbearable". He said that Britain cannot remain silent regarding the fact that the suffering of the common people, including children, is deepening. "The threat to the lives of children and hunger caused by the blockade of Gaza is very serious," he said, "because of this, Britain has suspended trade talks with Israel." 

Senator Bernie Sanders, who continues to raise his voice in the US Parliament against Israel's actions, has also said that starving children in Gaza is a clear violation of international law and human rights. "Killing children by starvation as a weapon of war is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention, the Foreign Aid Act and general human dignity," Sanders said in parliament on March 8, "A civilized society does not allow children to starve to death." "I'm worried about the death of young children, I'm worried about human rights," he said.

According to The Guardian news published on Thursday, Israel has begun to allow some limited materials to enter Gaza after global pressure. But concerns about aid distribution have spread. OCHACA spokesman Jens Larke said 90 trucks carrying medicine, wheat flour and nutrition entered Gaza on Thursday. According to him, due to unstable security situation, risk of looting and lack of coordination with the Israeli authorities, there is a big challenge in the distribution of aid.

Anne Frank expressed hope and faith in humanity in her diary despite challenges, fear, war and insecurity. "Despite all these things, I still believe that people's hearts are really good," she wrote, "how much better it would be if people didn't have to wait a single moment to start the work of improving the world!" Let's hope that the children who are trapped in the middle of the war should get food, medicine and shelter, not become a tool for political transactions and religious disputes. And that basic facilities and relief be made easy for the children in Gaza. -