Children killed in Gaza: SKM demands international action

New Delhi: The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) has issued a plea for international action following alarming reports of child casualties in Gaza, with more than 14,000 children killed or severely injured in the region since October 7 last year.

In a statement, SKM leaders condemned what they described as “a war against children” in Gaza, where one child is reportedly killed or severely injured every 10 minutes.

The umbrella body of farmer unions said there is an urgent need for a ceasefire and drew attention to distressing video footage depicting brutal attacks on Palestinian children.

The Palestinian Farmers Union in the Qalqilya Governorate has called upon farmers worldwide to raise their voice for an immediate end to the violence targeting children on both sides of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“This is an unprecedented massacre of innocent children,” the SKM leaders said. “The Israeli government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, must be held accountable as a war criminal for these atrocities. This war is a crime against humanity,” they said.

The SKM’s statement also criticised what they termed “US imperialism” and support from other western countries for the Netanyahu government, alleging complicity in the ongoing violence against Palestinians.

The SKM called upon people globally to rally against these forces and appealed to political parties in India to exert pressure on the government to advocate for peace and a cessation of hostilities.

“We demand that India reclaim its stance as a voice for the developing world, free from the influence of the US-Israel nexus,” the statement said.

“We appeal to the people of India to join the global peace movement in solidarity with Palestine,” it added.

The war in Gaza, which was triggered by the Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, making it by far the deadliest round of fighting in the history of the conflict. The initial Hamas attack had killed some 1,200 Israelis.

The war has forced around 17 lakh Palestinians — around three quarters of the territory’s population — to flee their homes, often multiple times. That is well over twice the number that fled before and during the 1948 war.