Hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children have been directly affected by Israel’s attack on the Gaza Strip, ranging from displacement to wounding or killing.

Since October 7, more than 10,000 children have been killed or lost under rubble and are presumed dead, according to a report from the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor. At least 24,000 children have lost one or both parents in Israeli attacks and about 18,000 were injured, some in critical condition.

Almost half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people – 47 percent – are under 18 years old. Most of them have experienced at least four Israeli offensives in their short lives.

Children are also at risk of starvation due to the blockade imposed by Israel on the coastal enclave, particularly in the northern Gaza Strip, where they eat an average of one meal per day. In addition, the lack of clean drinking water, overcrowding and lack of sanitation in UN-run schools, where many displaced people seek shelter, have led to outbreaks of infectious diseases to which children are particularly at risk.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes in the past 68 days, including more than 7,700 children. That means a Palestinian child is killed every ten minutes, prompting the World Health Organization to call the situation “humanity’s darkest hour.”

Nearly 8,000 people are missing and presumed dead under the rubble of their homes, and more than 50,000 have been injured – the vast majority women and children.

Despite the UN Secretary General saying On October 31, it was declared that Gaza had become a “graveyard for children, a hell for everyone else.” The Israeli offensive and ground invasion has continued and shows no signs of slowing down.

“As a result of ongoing Israeli attacks, over 18,000 Palestinian children have been injured, many of whom are in critical condition,” Euro-Med Monitor said. “Dozens more suffered amputations and hundreds more suffered severe burns to various parts of their bodies.”

At the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Al Jazeera spoke to several children who had survived Israeli bombings either directly on their homes or in their neighborhoods.

“I miss my school”: Sa’ed al-Areer, eight, from Shujayea

I was playing with my cousin on the street in front of the house in the Maghazi refugee camp. The Israeli planes bombed the building opposite. I suffered a fractured skull, stitches all over my head, a broken leg and a large wound that the doctors said exposed my bone.

My favorite football players are Alaa Attiya and Omar Khamis from Shujayea Football Club. They score a lot of goals. I will play when we return home, but I don’t have football. I still want to be a soccer player when I grow up. I miss my school.

“War is stupid”: Abdullah Jabr, eight, from the Bureij refugee camp

My mother was preparing dinner for us when our neighbor’s house was attacked. The walls of our house fell on us, breaking my leg and arm in two places. Our home is gone.

I like Cristiano Ronaldo, but I want to be a doctor so I can help children get healthy. I hope my doctor’s referral sends me to the UAE and not Egypt because I don’t want to travel to Egypt by car. I want to get on a plane and look out the window when I’m in the sky. I want to get well and return to Gaza.

War is stupid. I want it to end. I saved 1,000 shekels [$270]. My father keeps them for me. My favorite food is chicken wings and when that’s over I want to go to a restaurant with my family.

“I played on the swing”: Mayar Abu Saad, 12, from the Shati refugee camp

We left our home in Shati and went to live with my grandfather in Nuseirat. My grandfather said we should go into the yard and bake bread. A rocket hit our house and the residents, including my Aunt Tagreed, Uncle Sameh, Uncle Mohammed and my cousin Rital, were killed, eleven in total. My sister Sabah was also killed. She was so young, only two years old.

I was playing on the swing in the yard and when I woke up I found myself in the hospital. The doctors cut my long hair and I was so upset. They thought I was dying, but my heart kept beating. They operated on me for four hours and said I had internal bleeding, a broken skull, a broken pelvis and two broken legs.

I have seams on my hand and stomach and my legs have titanium parts. I want to become a teacher and my favorite subject is English.

“The noise was scary”: Hayat Miqbil, seven, from Karameh in the northern Gaza Strip

We were at my grandfather’s house in Nuseirat eating moussaka when the Israelis bombed us. The sound was frightening. My mother, my grandfather, uncles Mustafa, Sameh and Taiseer, his wife and my cousins ​​Hamoud and Uday were all killed.

Mom was outside. I was injured on my legs. Both are broken. My Baba and my Aunt May take care of me. I sat under the window and saw the rocket fall. We thought it was going behind our house. I remember a man saved me from under the rocks. My legs were stuck. I want to become a dentist so I can fix my father’s teeth. I like to draw and play with my dolls.

“I had splinters in my stomach”: Issa Yahya, 10, from the Bureij refugee camp

I’m first in my class. Our neighbor’s house in Nuseirat was bombed and the walls of our house collapsed on us. We were under the rubble. My grandfather pulled me out. I had shrapnel in my stomach and couldn’t eat for 10 days. My legs have more than 50 stitches.

My grandma and my cousin were killed. I want to become a doctor and my favorite subject at school is mathematics.