Children Facing Horrible Fates in Middle East amid Ongoing Conflicts

Children have long been victims of violence worldwide, with millions killed and displaced in the course of brutal civil wars or international conflicts, and thousands being recruited as soldiers to fight. The Middle East has certainly not been the safest for innocent children.

The devastating war in Gaza has taken a heavy toll on civilian minors. On Saturday, the names of over 15,000 Gazan children killed in Israeli attacks over the last eight months were read aloud in Berlin in commemoration of the International Children’s Day.

Using the pretext of the ongoing war in Gaza, the Houthis have reportedly recruited thousands of children since October 7, 2023, for their domestic fight in Yemen. Activists report the armed group recruiting children as young as 13, a report by Human Rights Watch revealed in February this year. The United Nations has verified at least 1,851 individual cases of child recruitment or use by the Houthis since 2010.