As the world looks away, Gaza’s children are being buried under rubble and fire. Since Israel resumed its military onslaught on 18 March, nearly 600 children have been killed, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). More than 1,600 others have been wounded—many with injuries so severe they may never walk or speak again.

The UN children’s agency, UNICEF, has described the past weeks as among the deadliest since the war began in October 2023. The agency’s chief, Catherine Russell, spoke of “images of children burning in makeshift tents” that should “shake us all.” But instead of global outrage, Gaza is met with silence, siege, and indifference.

UN officials have documented 36 Israeli airstrikes between 18 March and 9 April that specifically killed women and children. Gaza, once filled with laughter and life, is now, as UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini described, “a post-apocalyptic killing field.” The calls for international action remain unanswered, and the war machine continues.

Across occupied Palestine, the toll climbs. In the West Bank, three more Palestinians were killed in the last 24 hours, part of Israel’s ongoing crackdown targeting resistance groups. Since October, nearly 1,000 have died there too, under settler and army fire.

Over 51,200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war, the majority of them women and children. As mass graves grow and homes turn to ash, international courts have finally taken note—arrest warrants were issued in November 2024 against Israel’s prime minister and former defence minister for war crimes. A genocide case is also underway at the International Court of Justice.

But for Gaza’s children, whose dreams now smoulder in fire-blackened tents, justice feels impossibly far.