Al-Barsh: Israeli enemy waging systematic war against Palestinian children
Dr. Munir al-Barsh, Director General of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, affirmed that the Israeli enemy has been waging a “systematic war against Palestinian children since the very first hours of the aggression,” targeting their lives, health, and natural development as part of an organized plan to obliterate generations and threaten the demographic future of the Palestinian people.
In an interview with the Palestinian news agency “Sanad” on Sunday, al-Barsh explained that this war has claimed the lives of more than 20,000 Palestinian children and seriously injured another 44,000. He emphasized that this targeting “goes beyond military operations to a systematic policy of exterminating childhood.”
He pointed out that the Israeli enemy did not stop at direct bombing, but also, from the very first days, prevented the entry of essential nutritional supplements for children and pregnant women, including milk and elements necessary for healthy growth, in a move he described as “deliberate, aimed at creating a generation with stunted development suffering from long-term health and mental problems.”
The Ministry of Health in Gaza recorded a significant increase in abortions and a 40% decrease in monthly births, from 26,000 to 17,000. According to Al-Barsh, this indicates a deliberate targeting of the womb, just as live children have been targeted.
He pointed to the direct targeting of fertility clinics, particularly the bombing of the Al-Basma Center, which resulted in the burning of nitrogen cylinders and the destruction of approximately 4,000 fully fertilized embryos. He emphasized that these crimes are documented in United Nations reports and fact-finding missions.
He asserted that these indicators reflect “a pre-existing plan, long hinted at by Israeli research centers, such as the Herzliya Conference, which considered the Palestinian demographic threat a danger that must be confronted.”
He added, “The war provided an opportunity to implement these plans through the direct targeting of the Palestinian population, their health, and their ability to reproduce properly.”
Al-Barsh concluded his statement by emphasizing that the Ministry of Health is documenting these crimes accurately, and will submit their files to the relevant international bodies as crimes of genocide targeting Palestinians from the time they are fetuses until early childhood.