WEST BANK (Dispatches) – Since October 7, one Palestinian child has been killed every two days on average in the occupied West Bank, including East Al-Quds, the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) stated on Monday.
It said in a statement that a total of 143 Palestinian children have been killed there during the past nine months, a spike of nearly 250 percent compared to the preceding nine months, during which 41 Palestinian children were killed. 
Additionally, more than 440 Palestinian children have been injured with live ammunition, the press release said.
“For years now, children living in the West Bank, including East Al-Quds, have been exposed to horrific violence,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. 
“The situation has deteriorated significantly, coinciding with the escalation of hostilities inside Gaza. We are seeing frequent allegations of Palestinian children being detained on their way home from school, or shot while walking on the streets. The violence needs to stop now,” Russell added.
The casualties have been reported in 10 out of 11 governorates in the West Bank, with more than half of the killings taking place in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus, the statement said.
Tensions have been high across the occupied West Bank since the Zionist regime launched a deadly military aggression against the Gaza Strip, which has killed over 39,000 victims since October 7, 2023.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its military onslaught in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.