<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?><oembed><version><![CDATA[1.0]]></version><provider_name><![CDATA[Occupied Palestine | فلسطين]]></provider_name><provider_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com]]></provider_url><author_name><![CDATA[occupiedpalestine]]></author_name><author_url><![CDATA[https://occupiedpalestine.wordpress.com/author/hajarhajar/]]></author_url><title><![CDATA[Gaza children &#8216;at risk&#8217; near&nbsp;border]]></title><type><![CDATA[link]]></type><html><![CDATA[<table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="100%">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td class="articleTitle" valign="top"><span id="DetailedTitle"> </span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="Tmp_hSpace10"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
<div id="dvToolsList"></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="DetailedSummary">
<table style="width:33px;border-collapse:collapse;" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><img src="https://i1.wp.com/english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/1/18/201111804652502734_20.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td align="center"><span style="font-size:10px;font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:10px;font-family:Verdana;"><strong>The report says &#8216;extreme poverty&#8217; is forcing children to drop out of school and work for a living [GALLO/GETTY]</strong></span></span><strong> </strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvArticleInfoBlock">
<div id="ctl00_cphBody_dvSummary"><strong>New report says 26 children killed by Israeli troops near the border in 2010, while the blockade is &#8216;ravaging&#8217; economy.</strong></div>
<div id="dvByLine_Date">Last Modified: 18 Jan 2011 01:07 GMT |  Middle East &#8211; Al Jazeera English</div>
<div></div>
</div>
<p>Children in Gaza are coming under regular gunfire from Israeli  soldiers while scavenging in the ruins of buildings bombed during the  Israeli invasion of Gaza in 2009, a new Save the Children report has  warned.</p>
<p>Twenty-six children were shot by Israeli troops close to the border  last year, according to the UNICEF-led working group on children  affected by armed conflict.</p>
<p>That number includes 16 children who were shot outside the Israeli-imposed &#8216;exclusion zone&#8217; that extends 300m into Gaza.</p>
<p>The children scavenge for construction materials due to the ongoing  blockade of Gaza, which means that no new materials are allowed in, the  report said.</p>
<p>Thousands of homes destroyed during the conflict have yet to be rebuilt due to the shortage.</p>
<p><strong>&#8216;End the blockade&#8217;</strong></p>
<p>&#8220;The blockade must end immediately and there must be a review of  policies with respect to the border area,&#8221; said Salam Kanaan, Save the  Children UK’s Country Director in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.</p>
<p>&#8220;The Gaza blockade has put children’s lives at risk.&#8221;</p>
<p>In  September 2010, two 16-year-old boys and their 91-year-old grandfather  were killed by Israeli tank fire about 700m from the border.</p>
<p>&#8220;Because  of the blockade&#8217;s devastating economic impact, children are being  forced to work and scavenge near the fence.  Even those who are not in  the so-called &#8216;buffer zone&#8217; unilaterally imposed by Israel are being  targeted by Israeli soldiers,&#8221; said Chris Gunness, Spokesman for UNRWA.</p>
<p>The report goes on to condemn the Israeli blockade for  &#8220;ravag[ing] the economy, leaving many &#8230; struggling to support their  families&#8221;, and forcing children to drop out of school to take up work.</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><a href="http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/01/201111804035568365.html">Gaza children &#8216;at risk&#8217; near border &#8211; Middle East &#8211; Al Jazeera English</a>.</p>
]]></html><thumbnail_url><![CDATA[https://i1.wp.com/english.aljazeera.net/mritems/Images/2011/1/18/201111804652502734_20.jpg?fit=440%2C330]]></thumbnail_url><thumbnail_width><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_width><thumbnail_height><![CDATA[]]></thumbnail_height></oembed>