June 4 marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, a commemoration that takes on particularly tragic significance this year, as the children of Gaza endure a daily nightmare. Israeli deadly attacks pursue them even into displacement zones, the streets, tents, and even their hospital beds.
On this occasion, Alkarama calls on the international community to fully assume its responsibilities: to protect the children of Gaza, to bring the perpetrators to justice, and to work concretely toward the establishment of a safe environment that guarantees Palestinian children their rights to life, dignity, education, and proper healthcare.
A Day Established by the United Nations
On August 19, 1982, during the seventh emergency special session of the United Nations General Assembly dedicated to the question of Palestine, the UN expressed its deep outrage at “the large number of innocent Palestinian and Lebanese children who have been victims of acts of aggression by Israel.” This led to the proclamation of June 4 as the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression.
This day seeks to acknowledge the suffering of children around the world who are exposed to physical, psychological, and emotional violence. It also reaffirms the commitment of the United Nations to defending the rights of the child, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most rapidly ratified human rights treaty in history.
A Childhood Sacrificed in Gaza
Despite these international commitments, children in many conflict zones — including the Arab world — continue to suffer serious and systematic violations. In Gaza, the most recent figures are horrifying: from the start of the war on October 7, 2023, until May 2025, more than 16,500 children have been killed, including 908 infants who had not yet reached their first birthday.
According to UNICEF, more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict, revealing the dramatic scale of the humanitarian catastrophe affecting the territory’s child population. These already alarming statistics may actually underestimate the true toll due to difficulties in accessing certain areas and the inability to recover bodies still buried under the rubble.
As the UN reminds us: “Every day, children living in conflict-ravaged regions face unspeakable terror. Nowhere is safe for them — not in their homes, not in the streets, not at school, not even in the hospital.”
The UN adds: “Trapped between frontlines, children are exposed to extreme levels of violence: killings, injuries, abductions, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as the denial of access to life-saving humanitarian aid.”