LONDON

In just five months, Israel has killed more children in a strip of land the size of the US state of Philadelphia than all conflicts worldwide did in the past four years combined, said a UN special rapporteur on Wednesday.

In a scathing report presented to the United Nations today, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, decried the ongoing crisis in Gaza, describing it as a systematic process tantamount to genocide.

Albanese's report underscores the harrowing reality faced by Palestinian children under Israeli occupation, highlighting the devastating toll of the conflict.

"Destroying a population from its roots. Genocide is a process, not an act, and what is happening in Gaza is a tragedy foretold. See my report on the treatment of Palestinian children under Israeli occupation," she wrote on X.

The report details the relentless assault on Gaza's civilian population, particularly its children, who have borne the brunt of the violence. Albanese's findings paint a disturbing picture of systematic targeting, indiscriminate bombings, and the destruction of essential infrastructure, leaving countless families displaced and communities in ruins.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which some 1,200 people were killed.

Over 31,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 73,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.