Rachel Cummings, humanitarian director for Save the Children in Gaza, says the number of children killed in the enclave is “shocking”.

“This is a preventable death within Gaza. It is absolutely shocking. The impact is not only on the population of Gaza, with 2 per cent of all children being killed since the beginning of the war, but the personal impact on mothers, fathers and families is unfathomable,” Cummings told Al Jazeera from Deir el-Balah.

“Women and mothers are sharing with us how painful it is every day to keep going. They keep going for the remainder of their children and for their families.

“But the loss of a child in such a brutal way … they had no opportunity to say goodbye. They had no opportunity to share one last hug or to tell them one last time that they loved them,” Cummings said.

Her comments come after Save the Children reported that one child has been killed every hour during the 23 months of the conflict in Gaza. At least 1,000 of them were babies.