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A festival meant to be a joyous time for prayer, family and giving has turned deadly in Gaza as at least 322 children have been killed by Israeli attacks on the enclave, Unicef said on Monday.
After a month of fasting during which the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas broke down entirely, Israel restarted its bombing and ground campaign in the enclave on March 18, turning what was already a difficult holy month into a ghastly picture for Palestinians.
Hundreds of children have been killed by Israel in the last 10 days, with the latest deadly attack taking place over the Islamic festival of Eid Al Fitr, Unicef spokesman Ammar Ammar told The National. Children wearing their special Eid clothes to celebrate the end of Ramadan will now wear those brightly coloured garments to the grave.
“Gaza has become a deadly zone for children like never before. In just the past 10 days, hundreds of children have reportedly been killed, many while seeking shelter in makeshift tents and damaged homes, or even as they celebrated Eid," he said.
Israeli shelling has killed 80 people in the past 48 hours, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. More than 1,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since it shattered the fragile ceasefire. Strikes over the first two days of Eid Al Fitr hit areas across the enclave, including Khan Younis in the south and Jabalia in the north.
"After more than 500 days of war, relentless and indiscriminate bombardments have once again turned the Gaza Strip into a graveyard for children," Mr Ammar added.
Jaber Thabet, a father of three who has lost 50 of his family members in the war, said he will remember the attacks forever, the images of children enjoying the festival in new clothes torn apart in seconds.
"The [war planes] came quickly, as if they were closely monitoring their joy, as if they saw in their smiles a danger that must be eliminated," he told The National of watching videos of the moment the bombs hit on Sunday from the camp he is staying at in Nuseirat, central Gaza.
"The small bodies that had been running moments before were lifeless, motionless. Their new shoes, covered in dust, were left unworn, and the sweets they held were scattered remains next to their bodies." The reality for many Gazans is that Eid is no longer a day of joy, "it has become an indelible, bloody memory, like an open wound that will never heal", Mr Thabet said.
Unicef, along with other international humanitarian bodies, is calling for an end to Israel's attacks, which began on October 2023 sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel which killed 1,200 people and led to around 250 being taken captive. Israel has said it will not stop the campaign until all hostages taken on October 7 are returned.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he would increase military pressure on Hamas to lay the path to Israel taking control of Gaza and implementing a roundly condemned plan from US President Donald Trump to evict Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Videos on social media platforms circulated of children wearing their Eid clothes and accessories among those killed, adding to the death toll, which breached 50,000 last week.
"How can anyone, let alone an aid agency which operates in line with international humanitarian law and within the UN, expect such blatant disregard for human lives and for the sanctity of religious festivities like Eid Al Fitr?" said Tamara Al Rifae, UNRWA's head of communications. Since October 2023, 284 UNRWA staff have been killed by Israeli forces.
The strikes came after Israeli forces issued eviction orders for three towns in Khan Younis, forcing many who have already been displaced multiple times during the conflict to leave their tents and homes on March 29, a day before Eid Al Fitr. Fresh eviction orders were issued on Monday covering several areas of Rafah, southern Gaza, telling the population to leave for the Al Mawasi area.
