Explosive weapons killed most children in 2024; Gaza reports highest death toll: NGO

Explosive weapons killed or injured children at record levels last year, as wars increasingly move into urban areas, Save the Children said in a report published Thursday.

Nearly 12,000 children were killed or injured in conflict last year worldwide, said the UK-based charity, citing UN figures. This was the highest number since records began in 2006, and was up by 42 percent on the 2020 total.

Previously, children in war zones were more likely to die from malnutrition, disease or failing health systems.

But as conflicts, such as those in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, take place more and more in urban areas, children are being caught up as bombs and drones strike hospitals, schools and residential areas, Save the Children said.

More than 70 percent of child casualties in war zones in 2024 were caused by explosive weapons, such as missiles and grenades, up from an average of around 59 percent in the period from 2020 to 2024, according to the report.

The conflicts that claimed the most casualties among children in 2024 were in the Palestinian territories of Gaza and the occupied West Bank, Sudan, Myanmar, Ukraine and Syria.

The deadliest conflict in recent years for children is in Gaza, where Israel has killed at least 20,000 children since Israel launched its war on the territory, the report said.

“The world is witnessing the deliberate destruction of childhood — and the evidence is undeniable,” said Narmina Strishenets, senior conflict and humanitarian advocacy advisor at Save the Children UK.

“Children are paying the highest price in today’s wars… Missiles are falling where children sleep, play and learn — turning the very places that should be the safest, like their homes and schools, into death traps.”

Children’s smaller bodies and developing organs means injuries from blasts can be much more severe and recovery can be more complex and prolonged.

“Children are far more vulnerable to explosive weapons than adults,” said Paul Reavley, a consultant paediatric emergency physician and co-founder of the Paediatric Blast Injury Partnership, a coalition between Save the Children UK and medical specialists.

“Their anatomy, physiology, behaviour and psychosocial needs make them disproportionately affected.”