Sri Lanka, July 2 -- A damning aspect of modern war is the deliberate targetting of children by those who are belligerent. Since the Israeli invasion of Gaza began in October 2023, at least 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli military actions, according to reports from the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry and Save the Children, while other sources put the figure as high as 30,000.

According to a report published by the National Library of Medicine, Maryland, USA, children are deliberately targetted by IDF snipers.

The report says: "I noted that two thirds of all Palestinian child fatalities had been caused by small arms fire (from relatively close range), in fully half of the cases to the head or ...