THE HEART-WRENCHING DEATH OF A 3-YEAR-OLD CHILD IN GAZA: HOW MANY MORE?

Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations (MAPIM)
Space U8, Eco Mall , Bukit Jelutong , Shah Alam , Selangor
azmiabdulhamid58@ gmail.com
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JOINT PRESS RELEASE
MAPIM & MyChild International

February 26, 2025

The tragic death of 3-year-old Sham Al-Shanbari, who froze to death in a tent in Khan Younis, is yet another painful reminder of the unimaginable suffering that the children of Gaza are enduring. Today, the Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that three more children died due to the freezing cold, bringing the world’s attention once again to the deliberate, systematic, and merciless persecution of Palestinian children.

As the world watches, Gaza’s children are perishing—not only from airstrikes but from starvation, disease, and extreme weather, all caused by Israel’s siege and relentless military aggression. Toddlers are being killed in their sleep, infants are being buried under rubble, and even those who survive are left homeless, orphaned, and traumatized beyond repair.

THE NUMBERS OF PALESTINE’S LOST CHILDREN

Since the start of Israel’s onslaught on Gaza:

More than 13,000 children have been killed—many burned alive, decapitated, or shot at point-blank range.

Over 30,000 children have been injured, many permanently disabled without access to medical care.

At least 20,000 children are orphaned, their parents murdered before their eyes.

More than 1 million children are displaced, living in makeshift tents under extreme cold, without food, clean water, or sanitation.

UNICEF reports that at least 90% of children in Gaza are suffering from extreme hunger, while at least 1 in 4 faces imminent starvation.

Children are being executed with bullets to their heads. This is not collateral damage—this is targeted, systematic, and deliberate genocide.

ISRAEL’S CRUELTY: A WAR ON CHILDREN

The mass slaughter of children in Gaza is not an accident, nor a side effect of war—it is a policy of extermination. Israel’s leadership, military, and supporters have dehumanized Palestinian children, portraying them as “legitimate targets”, justifying their murder in cold blood. The horrific reality is clear:

Children in Gaza are considered less than human, their lives deemed disposable.

Every school, hospital, and refugee camp has been bombed, leaving children with nowhere to hide.

Starvation is being used as a weapon, as aid convoys are blocked and water supplies deliberately destroyed.

Even newborns in incubators were left to die when Israel cut off electricity to hospitals.

What kind of world allows this?

THE COMPLICITY OF THE US, EU & GLOBAL LEADERS

While Israel executes this genocide, the United States and European Union remain complicit:

The US supplies Israel with bombs and bullets, fully aware that they will be used to massacre children.

European nations fund Israel’s war machine, while claiming to uphold “human rights.”

UN Security Council resolutions are vetoed, preventing any real action to stop the killing.

This is not just Israel’s crime—it is the crime of every government that funds, supports, and shields this barbarity. The world’s most powerful nations have chosen to defend the murderers rather than the murdered.

WHERE ARE THE UNSC, UNICEF, OIC & THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY?

What has the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) done other than issue empty statements? Where is UNICEF, which claims to protect children’s rights? What about the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)—where is the action beyond words?

Even children in the West Bank are not spared. Israeli settlers and soldiers shoot children in the streets, abduct them, and throw them into military prisons. This is a full-scale war against Palestinian children.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH – THE WORLD MUST ACT NOW

MAPIM and MyChild International demand immediate, decisive action:

1. A complete, unconditional ceasefire to stop the genocide.
2. An open humanitarian corridor to allow aid, food, and medical supplies into Gaza.
3. Full accountability for Israel’s war crimes, including international sanctions and prosecution at the ICC.
4. An end to military aid and arms sales to Israel from the US, UK, and EU.
5. The immediate recognition of Palestine’s sovereignty and protection of its people under international law.

Every second of inaction means another Palestinian child dies. How many more must be slaughtered before the world acts?

Mohd Azmi Abdul Hamid , President MAPIM

Aini Hazrin Ahmad Anuar
Secretary General MyChild International