Israel's war on the Gaza Strip has been the deadliest year of conflict for women and children anywhere in the world over the past two decades, according to an analysis released Tuesday as Israeli forces continued to bombard the Palestinian enclave and launched a ground invasion of Lebanon.
The global humanitarian group Oxfam noted in its new report that Israel's U.S.-backed assault on Gaza has killed more than 6,000 women and 11,000 children, estimates that the organization deemed "conservative" given that the figures don't include the tens of thousands of kids who are missing.
"Data from 2004-2021 on direct conflict deaths from the Small Arms Survey estimates that the highest number of women killed in a single year was over 2,600 in Iraq in 2016," Oxfam observed. "A report by the organization Every Casualty Counts examined information on over 11,000 children killed across the first 2.5 years of the Syria conflict, an average of over 4,700 deaths a year. U.N. Children and Armed Conflict reports over the last 18 years show that no other conflicts killed a higher number of children in one year."
Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam's Middle East and North Africa director, said in a statement that "these staggering figures are both appalling and heartbreaking."
"Influential actors in the international community have not only failed to hold Israel to account, they are also complicit in the atrocities by continuing to unconditionally supply it with arms," Khalil added. "It will take generations to recover from the devastating impacts of this war and there is still no cease-fire in sight."
According to the latest data from Gaza's health ministry, Israeli forces have killed 41,638 people since the Hamas-led October 7 attack.
Many children who have survived Israel's year-long assault thus far have been left with debilitating psychological and physical trauma. Umaiyeh Khammash, a physician who directs the West Bank-based group Juzoor, said Tuesday that more than 25,000 children in Gaza "have either lost a parent or become orphans, leaving them in deep emotional distress."
"Most children are grappling with anxiety and severe physical injuries, with many having lost limbs," said Khammash.
Oxfam also outlined in broad strokes how Israel has obliterated Gaza's civilian infrastructure, pointing to estimates showing that, on average over the past year, Israeli forces have bombed homes every four hours, shelters for displaced people every 17 hours, schools and hospitals every four days, and aid distribution points and facilities roughly every two weeks.
The group called for "an immediate, permanent cease-fire" and the release of all hostages and illegally detained Palestinians, as well as "an end to all arms sales to Israel and full access across Gaza for humanitarian aid."
"In light of the recent International Court of Justice advisory opinion and in order to avoid complicity," Oxfam said, "third states must do everything in their power to bring an immediate end to the illegal Israeli occupation, the removal of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and reparations paid, including restitution, rehabilitation, and compensation for affected communities."
