7th
Today, November 20th marks World Children's Day, yet on this day, Israeli occupying authorities continue to commit crimes against children in various Palestinian cities, villages, and refugee camps. Since October 7th, the Israeli military has killed over 5,000 children in its ongoing aggression against Gaza. Additionally, they have killed more than 52 children in the occupied West Bank since October 7th, raising the number of child martyrs in the West Bank to 92 since the beginning of the year according to Defense for Children-Palestine.
Israeli authorities persist in the systematic arrest of dozens of Palestinian children who are already living in difficult conditions inside prisons. Approximately 200 children have been arrested since October 7th, with some of them subsequently released. Israeli forces systematically arrest Palestinian children as part of punitive collective detention campaigns. These detained children are subjected to various forms of psychological and physical torture, without respecting the necessary child protection measures.
Israeli forces exploit the arrest of children to blackmail their families, forcing them to pay high financial fines for their release. The process of arresting children leaves devastating effects on their mental and physical health.