RAMALLAH, Palestine

A total of 547 Palestinian children were killed during last year’s Israeli military onslaught against the Gaza Strip, an international rights group devoted to children’s welfare said Wednesday.

“We independently verified the deaths of 547 Palestinian children among those killed in Gaza [by the Israel offensive], 535 of them as a direct result of Israeli attacks,” Defense for Children International-Palestine said in a recent report.

According to the report, 68 percent of the children killed during the Israeli assault were 12 years old or younger.

The report said that the Israeli military had committed grave violations against children that amounted to war crimes, including the direct targeting of children by Israeli aerial drones and attacks on schools and residential areas.

“Israel, the world’s largest exporter of aerial drones, killed 164 children in drone strikes during the offensive,” the NGO said.

The report also pointed out that not a single Israeli politician or military official had been held to account for the deaths, adding that “systemic impunity” had allowed the self-proclaimed Jewish state to continue its oppressive policies against children in Gaza.

In July and August of last year, Israel carried out a weeks-long offensive against the Gaza Strip with the ostensible aim of staunching rocket fire from the blockaded coastal enclave.

Over 2,160 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed – and some 11,000 injured – in the onslaught, which finally ended with an August cease-fire deal.

At least 73 Israelis – 68 soldiers and five civilians – were also killed during the 51-day war.