New York City, United States – After nearly being killed in June during an Israeli attack on Gaza, 10-year-old Rasha felt compelled to write her will.

“If I become a martyr or pass away, please do not cry for me because your tears cause me pain,” she wrote. “I hope my clothes will be given to those in need.”

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Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian American physician who has been volunteering in Gaza for the past two years, told Rasha’s story to diplomats on Wednesday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

Ahmad said Rasha also asked in her will that the rest of her possessions be divided among her siblings and her parents not yell too much at her 11-year-old brother.

Rasha was killed in another Israeli strike three months later.

Her story was one of many told to the diplomats who gathered to renew their support for a pledge called Call to Action for Palestinian Children in the West Bank and Gaza, which has been adopted by more than 70 countries.

Since the call to action, which urges an end to violations against children, was first made in June last year, Israel has killed thousands of Palestinian children, and many more thousands have been displaced, wounded and deprived of food.

“This suffering is not inevitable. It is a result of choices, of actions and of inaction – and choices can change,” Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said.

He also implicitly hit out at Israel’s false claim that the UN and aid groups are not delivering the humanitarian assistance piling up on the edges of Gaza as deadly hunger ravages the territory.

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“I disagree with those who say that the humanitarian system is broken,” Prevot said.

“It is access that is missing. It is the deliberate decision to deny access. War has rules, and those rules begin with humanity. To ignore them is not only to break the law. It is to betray who we are.”

‘Israel is committing genocide’

According to health officials, Israel has killed more than 20,000 children in Gaza since the start of the war in October 2023.

And as the Israeli blockade deepens a famine declared by a UN-backed hunger monitor in parts of the territory, children remain the most vulnerable segment of the population.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned that Israel will not stop its atrocities unless the world unites to stop the impunity.

“Let’s not mince our words: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. It is starving 2.3 million Palestinians,” he said. “In the wasteland that it has made Gaza, the lives of Palestinian children are tales of horror.”

For his part, UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher called for concrete action to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian children, saying they have been deprived of all rights protected under the laws of war.

“In Gaza, the famine has been caused by cruelty, justified by revenge, enabled by indifference, sustained by complicity,” he said.

“In Gaza, a child has been killed on average every hour for almost two years. … In Gaza, shelters are bombed and schools have become sites of horror, depriving over 700,000 children of their right to education.”

He stressed the need for a ceasefire and allowing humanitarian access to aid groups because Palestinian children “cannot eat statements and concern”.

Although named a Call to Action for Palestinian Children, the 2024 pledge to support Palestinian children does not include any action against Israel. Instead, it is a list of commitments to humanitarian aid and a rejection of abuses.

It has been endorsed by countries worldwide, including Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan.

‘We need a ceasefire’

At the UN event, Abby Maxman, president of Oxfam America, outlined a list of demands by the aid group to help protect children:

• Suspending arms transfers that risk atrocity crimes
• Reviewing and amending trade agreements to ensure compliance with international law
• Adopting financial, political and diplomatic accountability measures to end impunity

“These are not radical measures,” Maxman said. “They are the bare minimum needed to save Palestinian children. They are also legal obligations, as affirmed by resolutions, advisory opinions and international humanitarian law.

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While dozens of countries across the world have decried Israel’s atrocities and the forced starvation it is inflicting on Gaza, few have imposed sanctions on the United States’s ally or fundamentally altered their relationship with it.

On Wednesday, Palestine’s UN envoy Riyad Mansour recounted stories of interactions with children from Gaza, including a 12-year-old who was visiting the UN headquarters as part of an initiative by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Mansour recalled asking the child what he would like to be when he grew up. “He said: ‘I want to be a diplomat. I want to replace you as ambassador of the state of Palestine.’”

The Palestinian diplomat said he does not know if the children he encountered are still alive.

“These are the beautiful stories of our children,” Mansour added as he banged gently on the table.

“We need to defend the ones who are alive. The ones we lost, Allah yerhamhon [God bless their souls]. We cannot bring them back. But we need to redouble our efforts to save the lives of the children who are alive. That’s why we need a ceasefire. We need it now.”