GAZA CITY, Palestine / ISTANBUL 

The Israeli army killed nearly 20,000 children during the ongoing genocidal war in Gaza since October 2023, local authorities said Sunday.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said the bodies of more than 19,450 children were brought to hospitals, while over 12,500 women were also killed, including about 10,160 whose bodies were recovered.

The office said Israeli forces destroyed about 90% of Gaza’s territory and took control of over 80% of the area, using an estimated 200,000 tons of explosives.

According to the statement, at least 1,670 medical personnel, 140 civil defense members, and 254 journalists were killed since the war began two years ago.

The media office said around 12,000 miscarriages among pregnant women were reported in Gaza due to hunger and lack of healthcare.

It accused Israel of “systematically” targeting Gaza’s health sector, destroying or disabling 38 hospitals, 96 health centers, and 197 ambulances.

The office said 835 mosques were destroyed and 180 others partially damaged, while three churches were attacked, 40 cemeteries demolished, and over 2,450 bodies stolen from burial sites.

It said about 268,000 housing units were completely destroyed, 148,000 severely damaged, and 153,000 partially damaged, displacing more than 288,000 families. Most of the 125,000 tents sheltering them are now unfit for use.

Nearly two million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced since the start of the war, with 293 shelters and displacement centers hit by Israeli strikes, the office said.

Since October 2023, Israeli bombardment has killed more than 67,000 Palestinians in the enclave, and rendered it uninhabitable, with the blockade also pushing Gaza to famine.