GENEVA, November 1. /TASS/. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has condemned Israel for attacking civilian targets in the Gaza Strip, where over 3,500 children have been killed, and has also urged the Palestinian movement Hamas to release children and their caregivers being held hostage, according to the statement issued in Geneva by the committee’s 18 independent experts.

"The Committee on the Rights of the Child strongly condemns the escalation of attacks by Israel against civilian targets in the Gaza Strip, which had resulted in the deaths of more than 3,500 children since 7 October 2023," the statement said.

The experts called for "the immediate release of child hostages, with their caregivers, as a first urgent phase towards the release of all hostages [held by the radical movement Hamas]." They reminded the parties to the conflict about their duty to "protect all children" and provide the "necessary medical and protective support, including psychological support."

"We plead that all humanitarian convoys be permitted to enter the Gaza Strip and provide humanitarian aid to all children in need, as required by international law," the committee’s members said.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a body of 18 independent experts, monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory on October 7. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.