With a 250% increase UN report: A child has been killed every two days in the West Bank since October 7

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) revealed in a report, on Monday, that the Israeli occupation's killing of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank has increased by 250% since October 7, 2023 (the start of the war on the Gaza Strip), at a rate of one child every two days.

The organization said on its website that 143 children were martyred in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since last October, which represents an increase of about 250% compared to the nine months before that (October 2023).

She explained that the first nine months of 2023 witnessed the martyrdom of "only 41 Palestinian children." She pointed out that an average of one child has been martyred every two days since October 7 in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

She also pointed out that "more than 440 Palestinian children were injured by live ammunition" during the period following the escalation of Israeli military operations in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, coinciding with the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip.

“Children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been exposed to horrific violence for years. The situation has deteriorated dramatically as hostilities escalate inside Gaza,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in the same statement.

Detention and shooting during return from schools

“We are seeing repeated allegations of Palestinian children being detained on their way home from school, or shot while walking in the streets. This violence must stop now,” she added.

She continued: "Half of the killings occurred in the governorates of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nablus, and these areas have witnessed an increase in large-scale, militarized law enforcement operations over the past two years."

UNICEF called on all parties to end and prevent any further grave violations against children, including killing and injury.

Coinciding with its devastating war on Gaza, settlers escalated their attacks and the Israeli occupation army expanded its operations in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, leaving 578 martyrs and about 5,400 wounded, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.