International doctors who recently worked in Gaza have described what they believe to be the deliberate targeting of children by Israeli forces, with a consistent pattern of fatal gunshot wounds to the head and chest. Their testimonies, gathered before leaving the Strip, point to a systematic practice rather than accidental fire.

Doctors from the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, and the Netherlands reported treating over a hundred children under the age of 15 with identical injuries, most of whom did not survive. Many recounted cases of boys and girls shot in so-called “humanitarian zones,” or struck by fragmentation weapons designed to cause maximum internal damage. Surgeons described operating in unbearable conditions, with little more than broken equipment, suffocating heat, and the smell of sewage and explosives, while hospitals flooded daily with casualties. Some children were recorded with the label WCNSF, “Wounded Child, No Surviving Family.”

Weapons experts confirmed that the injuries were consistent with Israeli-made munitions, while medical staff noticed disturbing patterns in the strikes: one day concentrated on the head and chest, the next on the abdomen or limbs. Doctors say this indicates a coordinated strategy, with snipers and drones playing a central role. Despite the risk of being barred from returning to Gaza for speaking out, many insisted their duty was not only to save lives but also to testify to the systematic killing they witnessed.

With more than 64,800 Palestinians killed and over 164,000 injured since October 2023, the overwhelming toll on children, who make up nearly half of Gaza’s population, is at the heart of what doctors described as an unfolding genocide. For them, silence is no longer an option.