More than 200 children, including 23 from Gaza, detained by Israel

More than 200 Palestinian children are currently incarcerated in Israeli prisons, including 23 children from the Gaza Strip detained in the Megiddo Prison, where they have been subjected to enforced disappearance, prisoner advocacy groups said yesterday.

Releasing the figures on the eve of Palestinian Children’s Day, the rights groups said the numbers represent the only available data regarding detained children from Gaza, with the actual number being even higher.

This year, they explained, Palestinian children have experienced the highest bloodshed against the backdrop of the ongoing all-out Israeli aggression and genocidal war on Gaza.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, Israel has killed more than 14,000 Palestinian children in Gaza over the past six months, noting that the toll is not final due to the continuation of the aggression and the fact that thousands of victims are still missing under the rubble. Israel has also killed 117 children in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem this year.

According to testimonies from recently released child prisoners, the occupation has isolated them from other prisoners. Multiple testimonies also document brutal beatings endured during their detention.

Statistics and documented testimonies from child prisoners indicate that the majority of detained children have been subjected to one or more forms of physical and psychological torture.

READ: Hamas: Mistreatment of Gaza prisoners reveals Israel’s sadism