Published TUESDAY December 12, 2023: 'HELL ON EARTH' Most Dangerous Place To Be A Child by ZUMA Partner agency dpa photo-journalist Abed Rahim Khatib: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees stated after a visit to Gaza that civilians there were enduring ''hell on earth'' as Israel's war against Hamas grinds on. This week marks two months since conflict erupted after Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 200 hostages, prompting Israel to launch a massive military operation. Battles rage in the bloodiest-ever war in Gaza, with more than 18,200 Palestinians and 104 Israeli soldiers reported dead. The escalation of hostilities is having a catastrophic impact on children, with more than 6,600 reportedly killed and thousands more injured. Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble by the offensive, and the UN estimates 1.9 million of its 2.4 million people have been displaced. Roughly half are children. The cost to children and their communities of this violence will be borne out for generations to come. Welcome to 'HELL ON EARTH' Most Dangerous Place To Be A Child
© zReportage.com Issue #918 Story of the Week: Published TUESDAY December 12, 2023: 'HELL ON EARTH' Most Dangerous Place To Be A Child by ZUMA Partner agency dpa photo-journalist Abed Rahim Khatib: The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees stated after a visit to Gaza that civilians there were enduring ''hell on earth'' as Israel's war against Hamas grinds on. This week marks two months since conflict erupted after Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 200 hostages, prompting Israel to launch a massive military operation. Battles rage in the bloodiest-ever war in Gaza, with more than 18,200 Palestinians and 104 Israeli soldiers reported dead. The escalation of hostilities is having a catastrophic impact on children, with more than 6,600 reportedly killed and thousands more injured. Much of Gaza has been reduced to rubble by the offensive, and the UN estimates 1.9 million of its 2.4 million people have been displaced. Roughly half are children. The cost to children and their communities of this violence will be borne out for generations to come. Welcome to 'HELL ON EARTH' Most Dangerous Place To Be A Child
Palestinians inspect the ruins of a destroyed Khan Yunis mosque, following an Israeli airstrike on the second day of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine after attacks by the militant group Hamas. Conflict erupted after Hamas militants stormed southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people and seizing more than 200 hostages, prompting Israel to launch a massive military operation.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Women and children grieve as Palestinians attend the funeral of the Abu Quta family and several neighbors, who were killed during Israeli airstrikes, as fighting between Israeli forces and the Palestinian militant group Hamas rages on.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Palestinian children walk among the rubble of a destroyed building, following an Israeli air attack on Khan Yunis. The Israeli military stated that it had retaken full control of the border with Gaza, 3 days after Hamas militants breached defenses at the weekend and went on a killing rampage through nearby communities.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Palestinian women and children cry and mourn their loved ones killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khan Yunis as the Israeli retaliation against Hamas begins.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Palestinian men perform an outdoor funeral prayer for 3-year-old Amir Qanan, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on his home.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A blue mosque with twin minarets on the Rafah skyline as dark smoke fills the air during an Israeli air strike while fighting between Israeli troops and Islamist Hamas militants continues.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Palestinian children cry in fear as they wait for medical attention after an Israeli air strike in Gaza, amid the ongoing war with Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
An injured Palestinian teen, covered in dust, walks out of the scene of the Abu Lebda family home following an Israeli rocket raid on Rafah, south of Gaza.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A woman kneels and cries while embracing the body, wrapped in a white sheet, of her younger sister who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, at the Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A wounded Palestinian boy head wrapped in a bloodied bandage waits for treatment outside Al-Najjar Hospital, after Israeli air strikes on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Palestinians transport the body of a child victim from the rubble after Israeli air strikes on a house amid the ongoing war against Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Two Palestinian women comfort each other while waiting to receive the bodies of deceased relatives at Al-Najjar Hospital after an Israeli strike on their home left several people dead.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A man directs a woman holding a baby as Palestinians inspect a destroyed house that belonged to the Al-Maghari family after an Israeli airstrike on Rafah, southern of the Gaza Strip.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
October 30, 2023, Rafah, Palestinian Territories, A Palestinian woman weeps from the doorway of her home after an Israeli airstrike destroyed the nearby house of the Abu Rizq family, in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip during the ongoing war with Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Covered in dust, a Palestinian man waits with children to receive medical attention at Al-Najjar Hospital, following an Israeli airstrike on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israel is bombing Gaza and ground forces are taking part in incursions into the Gaza Strip during the war with Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Palestinian SIHAM RABAYA holding a toddler and stands in the rubble of her destroyed house after Israeli airstrikes in the Shaboura camp in the centre of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Three young Palestinian children ride on a bicycle past the destroyed home of the Barhoum family after an Israeli bombing. The war between Hamas and Israel has left thousands of Palestinians dead. Hamas killed 1,200 Israeli's on Oct 7 during a violent surprise attack in Israel.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A young Palestinian boy sits and mourns beside bodies wrapped in white, deceased members of the Riyadi family, who were killed after an Israeli airstrike, and are about to be removed from al-Najjar Hospital and buried.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Palestinian children wait in line holding pots and plates to receive hot meals in Rafah. The food is prepared and distributed by volunteers to those who were displaced from the northern Gaza Strip due to the ongoing war between Israeli and Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A young Palestinian boy sits arms folded in front of a wrapped body of one of Ahjazi's deceased family members, following an Israeli airstrike on Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A wounded Palestinian child appears shell shocked staring with wide eyes while standing among the remnants of a destroyed house, following Israeli air strikes amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A Palestinian girl wearing a hoodie peers through the broken window of a destroyed house, following Israeli air strikes amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Premature newborns sleep side by side in incubators after being transferred from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, to Al-Emarati Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. Three of the original 39 premature babies have already died since Gaza's biggest hospital ran out of fuel at the weekend to power generators that had kept their incubators going.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Premature newborns receive treatment from doctors after being transferred from the war damaged Al-Shifa Hospital to Al-Emarati Hospital in Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip. Three of the original 39 premature babies have already died since Gaza's biggest hospital ran out of fuel at the weekend to power generators that had kept their incubators going.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Women and children rest outdoors as Palestinians flee fierce fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas and travel from the city of Khan Yunis towards the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Women with young children carry mattresses as Palestinians flee fierce fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas from the city of Khan Yunis and travel on foot towards the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A family member prays for a deceased child at Al Najjar hospital after an Israeli air strike. Israeli troops reached the heart of Khan Younis in a new phase of the war, now entering its third month. The Gaza health ministry said 17,177 Palestinians had been killed and 46,000 wounded since October 7th, when Israel began bombing Gaza.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A young boy looks on as Palestinians buy groceries from a local market in Rafah while the Kerem Shalom border crossing remains closed due to the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Two Palestinian men carry an injured child covered with a bloodied cloth to seek medical help in Rafah, following an Israeli air strike during the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Wearing slippers, a young Palestinian girl holds a bundle of books as she searches for more belongings to salvage under the rubble of her house following Israeli bombardment, after battles resumed between Israel and the Hamas movement.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
A man grieves as he carries the body of a young relative who was killed in an Israeli bombardment, at the al-Najjar hospital, after battles resumed between Israel and the Hamas movement.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
Birds fly past as smoke rises from buildings after Israeli airstrikes in Rafah during the ongoing war with Hamas.
© Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa via ZUMA Press
