A charity organization, Save the Children, has issued figures showing that the number of children killed in the Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s ongoing aggression has exceeded annual figures related to global conflicts over the past four years.

Israel’s brutal military attack against Gaza, which began on October 7 in response to an operation by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, has left over 3,000 children killed, more than the annual number of children killed in armed conflicts globally in each of the past four years, said the international NGO.

The UK-based charity cited United Nations figures showing the number of children killed in conflicts in 24 countries last year was 2,985, up from 2,515 killed in 2021 and 2,674 in 2020.

Jason Lee, Save the Children's country director in the occupied Palestinian territories, said the death toll among children in Gaza may worsen as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression.  

“One child’s death is one too many, but these are grave violations of epic proportions,” said Lee. “A ceasefire is the only way to ensure their safety. The international community must put people before politics – every day spent debating is leaving children killed and injured. Children must be protected at all times, especially when they are seeking safety in schools and hospitals.”

That means the toll could hit a global annual record of 4,019 reported in 2019 as per figures from United Nations secretary general's annual report on children and armed conflict.

“The numbers are harrowing and with violence not only continuing but expanding in Gaza right now, many more children remain at grave risk,” added Lee.

Figures released by health authorities in Gaza on Monday showed some 3,457 children had died in more than three weeks of Israeli bombardment and shelling of the territory.

The total death toll of the Israeli attacks in Gaza reached 8,306 on Monday, of which 2,136 were women, said the authorities.

Gaza is a densely-populated Palestinian territory located on the Mediterranean Sea. The Israeli regime has tightened a blockade it had imposed on the territory in 2007 by cutting food, electricity and water supplies to more than 2.3 million people living there.