Israel’s war on Gaza: Child killed by Israeli forces

Israeli forces killed 11-year-old Dana Hussein Ahmed Muqat in al-Zarqa, located northeast of Gaza City, on December 30th, according to the Middle East Eye via Arab48 on December 31st.

Reports suggest that Israeli forces were firing live bullets in the Zarqa area, while Israeli artillery fire was also reported from northeast of the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

The 11-year-old’s death occurred one day before another child was killed by Israeli forces in al-Mawasi, located in the southern Gaza Strip, according to local media. No other details about the December 31st fatality have been released.

Although the US-backed ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect on October 10th, Israel has been accused of violating the deal’s terms 986 times in an 80-day period.

Since October 10th, an estimated 418 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks on Gaza, while at least 1,141 more have been wounded.

On December 24th, Israeli forces launched airstrikes along the yellow line, which represents areas of Gaza under Israeli occupation, while other parts of the enclave were targeted by tank fire.

Concerns have been raised that the yellow line could lead to a de facto partition of Gaza, not least due to reports that soldiers were seen moving markers to further restrict Palestinian movement.

Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 71,000 people since October 2023; it is estimated that more than 17,000 of the deaths were children.

Another 21,000 children have become disabled as a result of Israel’s war, with many being forced to undergo amputations without anaesthetic due to Israel’s blockade of medical supplies entering Gaza.

Prior to October 2023, conditions in Gaza were described as “hell on earth” by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2021 due to Israel’s repeated bombardment of the enclave.

Gaza has also been under an Israeli-imposed land, sea and air blockade since 2007, which led to shortages of electricity, food supplies and clean water.

In 2019, around two-thirds of households in Gaza were considered to be food insecure, and only three per cent of aquifer water was safe to drink.

Middle East Eye via Arab48, United Nations, Maghrebi.org