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Every ten minutes, a child is killed in Gaza

Every ten minutes, a child is killed in Gaza, as Israeli airstrikes continue
MENA
22 min read
04 November, 2023
The Head of Gaza’s media office Salama Maarouf has said that every ten minutes a child is killed in Gaza amid relentless Israeli airstrikes.

Israel's war on Gaza enters a 30th day on Saturday with continued intense aerial bombardment and ground attack on the besieged Palestinian enclave. 

The death toll is now nearing 9500, with almost 4000 children killed, which means that every ten minutes, a child is killed in the Gaza strip, as pointed out by the head of Gaza's media office Salama Maarouf.

This grim reflection comes as the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said in a statement on Saturday that one of its ambulances had been struck "by a missile fired by the Israeli forces", about two metres (6.5 feet) from the entrance to Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City.

The strike on Friday killed 15 people and wounded 60 others, it said, mirroring figures released earlier by the health ministry.

According to the PRCS, the convoy of five ambulances left Al-Shifa hospital shortly after 4:00 p.m. (1400 GMT) and headed south towards to Rafah crossing, through which the injured are being evacuated for treatment in Egypt hospitals.

The convoy, consisting of four ambulances from the health ministry and one belonging to the PRCS, had to turn back after hitting a stretch of road "blocked by large quantities of rubble and rocks" due to shelling, the statement said.

As the ambulances headed back towards the hospital, a first "missile" strike hit a health ministry ambulance, damaging the vehicle and injuring the people inside, according to the PRCS.

A second deadly strike hit the PRCS ambulance, carrying a wounded woman, as it approached Al-Shifa's gates, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

It said: "The deliberate targeting of medical teams constitutes a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions, a war crime."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement he was "horrified by the attack on the ambulance convoy outside Al-Shifa hospital". He added that the deadly attacks "must stop". 

However, the chanes of it stopping any time soon are unlikely. US Secretary of State of Anthony Blinken was today in Jordan meeting with Arab foreign ministers where he doubled down on the US position opposing a ceasefire, claiming Hamas will benefit from it.