TEL AVIV, October 30. /TASS/. In just three weeks, the number of children killed in Gaza surpassed the number of children killed annually in conflict zones in more than 20 countries over the previous three years, according to the international charity Save the Children.

According to data from the Gaza and Israeli ministries of health, more than 3,257 children have died as a result of the conflict since October 7, with at least 3,195 dying in Gaza, 33 in the West Bank, and 29 in Israel. At the same time, according to the UN Secretary-General's most recent annual reports on children and armed conflict, 2,985 children died in 24 countries in 2022, 2,515 in 2021, and 2,674 in 22 countries in 2020. As a result, the number of children killed in just three weeks in the Gaza Strip exceeds the number of children killed annually in armed conflicts around the world (in more than 20 countries) over the past three years, the organization said in its report.

The situation in the Middle East deteriorated dramatically following the infiltration of Hamas militants from Gaza into Israeli territory on October 7, which was accompanied by massacres of border settlement residents and the capture of more than 200 hostages, including children, women, and the elderly. This attack, according to radicals, was in response to Israeli authorities' actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a total blockade of Gaza and began retaliating against it as well as specific areas of Lebanon and Syria. Clashes occur in the West Bank as well.

According to the most recent data, over 1,400 Israelis were killed in the conflict, and over 5,200 were injured. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, more than 8,000 Palestinians were killed and 19,000 were injured as a result of Israeli strikes on the enclave.