The Gaza conflict is taking its toll on tens of thousands of children, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs warned Friday.
On Thursday, the Obama administration accused Israel on Thursday of failing to do all it can to prevent civilian casualties in Gaza during cross-border attacks. Noting the deaths a day earlier of four boys who were killed on a Gaza beach by an Israeli strike, the State Department said the high civilian death toll in Gaza has been "heartbreaking." Three more children were killed in Gaza on Thursday. Israeli forces also launched a ground invasion of Gaza, escalating a 10-day campaign of heavy air bombardments to try to destroy Hamas' rocket-firing abilities and the tunnels militants use to infiltrate Israel.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
