Two girls shot in Gaza

The BBC Worlding service collected the stories of Lian Al -Majdaloy, two, and Mira Tanura, six, both of whom were killed in Gaza in separate incidents in November 2023, in the areas where the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) operates.

In response to our results, the Israeli Defense Army said that the details of the cases of Lian and Mira have been registered and “will be examined by the competent authorities.” He added: “The deliberate harm to civilians, especially children, is completely prohibited.”

Layan and Mira are only two of more than 160 cases of children who were called in the war in Gaza, who collected accounts.

We found that in 95 of these cases, the child was shot in the head or chest. In 59 of these, we obtained a certificate of eyewitnesses, either directly or through human rights organizations and the doctor. Witnesses claimed that 57 of these children were shot by the Israeli Defense Army, and two were shot dead by the Palestinians – one in the ceremonial shooting and the other in the gang conflict.

For the remaining 36 out of 95 cases, we have no account of what happened. Israel prevents foreign correspondents from entering Gaza independently, and makes the destruction and displacement difficult to collect details.

The ICRC told the BBC that the world could not accept it as a “new natural” type of war that allows many children to shoot.