A REPORT BY:
UN OFFICE FOR THE COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS
JERUSALEM, 12 Oct 2006 (IRIN) - The number of Palestinian children who have been killed so far this year in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip almost doubles the number killed for the whole of 2005, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Many of the children died after being shot by Israeli troops during military operations or were killed in Israeli air strikes on houses.
In July alone, 36 children were killed in Gaza after Israel launched a military operation following the capture of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants.
A total of 52 Palestinian children were killed in 2005. Overall, 819 children have been killed since the beginning of the second intifada [Palestinian uprising against Israeli military occupation] in 2000, according to UNICEF statistics.
Youngsters are suffering increasing levels of stress from violence and fear in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, UNICEF said.
"They are confronted with regular military operations, shelling, house demolitions and checkpoints on their way to schools," said Anne Grandjean, a UNICEF Child Protection Officer."
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