Save the Children has estimated that approximately 21,000 children are missing in Gaza. This includes 17,000 unaccompanied and separated children, and 4,000 children buried under the rubble.

Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, Jeremy Stoner, said:   

“Families are tortured by the uncertainty of the whereabouts of their loved ones. No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try and find their child’s body. No child should be alone, unprotected in a war zone. No child should be detained or held hostage.

“Children who are missing but living are vulnerable, face grave protection risks and must be found. They must be protected and reunited with their families. For the children who have been killed, their deaths must be formally marked, their families informed, burial rites respected, and accountability sought. As many have pointed out, Gaza has become a graveyard for children, with thousands of others missing, their fates unknown.

“There must be an independent investigation and those responsible must be held accountable. We desperately need a ceasefire to find and support the missing children who have survived, and to prevent more families from being destroyed.” 

The report from Save the Children was published on 24th June. In its latest report the United Nations state that up to 1.9million people are now displaced in Gaza, some have had to move on to find safety 9 or 10 times. The term ‘people. includes the thousands of unaccompanied children, now without parents or even extended family, and left traumatised by the incessant bombardment of their communities.

People seek shelter wherever they can even in bombed out buildings and amongst piles of waste. The UN health agency, WHO, has reported a rise in communicable diseases including diarrhoea and hepatitis, particularly among malnourished children with weakened immune systems.

Children are also in great danger of unexploded ordnance. In Khan Younis on Saturday 29 June a nine-year-old girl was killed and three others injured when an unspecified device detonated. It is estimated that 10% of the ordnance used by Israeli forces in Gaza will have failed to detonate. It will take several years, perhaps even a decade, to clear the area of unexploded devices. #Gaza: 37 million tonnes of debris including unexploded ordnance

As they have done every Saturday since October, islanders in Orkney will stand in a peace vigil on the Kirk Green, Broad Street, Kirkwall, from 1 to 2pm on 6th July.

The islanders are calling for an immediate ceasefire, a return of all hostages, and the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid.

Between 7 October 2023 and 4 July 2024, at least 38,011 Palestinians were killed and 87,445 were injured in Gaza, according to MoH in Gaza. Casualty figures covering the period until the afternoon of 5 July are not available as of the time of reporting.  

Between the afternoons of 1 and 4 July, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, 111 Palestinians were killed and 385 were injured.

323 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza or along the border in Israel since the beginning of the ground operation. In addition, 2,069 soldiers were reported injured. As of 5 July, it is estimated that 120 Israelis and foreign nationals remain captive in Gaza, including fatalities whose bodies are withheld. Between 7 October 2023 and 5 July, according to the Israeli military and official Israeli sources cited in the media, over 1,523 Israelis were killed, the majority on 7 October 2023.

Click on this link for more information: Humanitarian Situation Update #187 | Gaza Strip (5th July)

Fiona Grahame