18,000 children were killed and 39,000 orphans were created.

Gaza, April 3, 2025 (LANA) - The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said on Thursday that children constitute 43% of the Palestinian population, and that there are 39,000 orphans in the Gaza Strip, which is the largest orphan crisis in modern history.

The PCBS explained, on the eve of Palestinian Children's Day, that famine and malnutrition threaten the lives of children in the Gaza Strip, with 60,000 cases of acute malnutrition expected, and confirmed the return of polio to the Gaza Strip.

It noted that the occupation forces have arrested more than 1,055 children since October 7, in a systematic violation of children's rights and a flagrant breach of international law.

During the 534 days of the Zionist aggression on the Gaza Strip (October 7, 2023 – March 23, 2025), Palestinian children faced an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Along with women, they constituted more than 60% of the total casualties.

The aggression resulted in the deaths of 50,021 Palestinians, including 17,954 children. Of these, 274 were infants born and killed by shelling, 876 were children under one year old, 17 died of cold in IDP camps, and 52 died of starvation and systematic malnutrition. 113,274 were injured, 69% of whom were children and women. More than 11,200 citizens remain missing, 70% of whom were children and women.

Estimates revealed that 39,384 children in the Gaza Strip lost one or both parents after 534 days of Israeli aggression, including approximately 17,000 children who were deprived of both parents, leaving them facing a harsh life without support or care.

=Lana=