Paris- News is accelerating regarding the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip, which has entered its 65th day, and among all the headlines and numbers provided by bulletins, the children of Gaza remain at the forefront of the victims of the occupation’s bombing.
While the humanitarian crisis is worsening over time, UNICEF spokeswoman Alexandra Murdoch pointed out the need for safe and unconditional access to aid throughout the sector to meet the needs of children and civilians.
Speaking to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, Murdoch said that the children of this besieged sector are suffering from a depletion of clean water, and the absence of the necessary treatment methods to protect them from the specter of imminent death due to the spread of diseases.
The spokeswoman for the international organization also confirmed that there is no safe place in the Strip, contrary to what the Israeli army claims, or the necessary protection measures to meet the needs of all the Palestinian people. The following is the text of the interview conducted with her by Tel Aviv Tribune Net.
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What role is UNICEF currently playing to end the suffering of Gaza’s children? Is the work of international organizations sufficient to meet the basic needs of the residents of this besieged sector?
UNICEF is working around the clock with various parties and countries concerned in this regard, and the organization’s Executive Director, Catherine Russell, informed the United Nations Security Council of the need for an immediate ceasefire for humanitarian reasons.
It also called on all parties to adhere to Resolution 2712, which calls for the establishment of truces and humanitarian corridors, to provide safe and unconditional access for humanitarian aid to all of the Gaza Strip, from south to north.
For our part, we stress to the relevant countries the need for immediate entry of supplies needed for truck transportation, including fuel, desalination and pumping of water, and flour production.
Our organization is also present in the field through teams working in extremely complex and dangerous conditions, to provide possible life-saving assistance to children and their families, such as water, food, medical supplies, hygiene supplies, winter clothes and blankets.
We consider that the restrictions and challenges imposed on delivering this aid to the Gaza Strip are another additional death sentence for children, especially since the quantities being brought in are not at all sufficient compared to the level of need.
With continued bombing and fuel shortages, distributing urgent aid has become a daily challenge, contributing to the collapse of the humanitarian system and pushing the population to the brink of despair, especially in light of the intense pressure resulting from the measures imposed after the end of the truce.
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Will you take measures to force Israel to take into account and respect the rights of children in Gaza?
Undoubtedly, our organization will continue to sound the alarm about the rights of Gaza’s children and call for an immediate ceasefire as it is the only way to ensure that no more children are killed and that citizens can safely reach citizens and provide them with the basics necessary to survive.
Our role is to ensure that the world knows the consequences and obligations under international humanitarian law, and we reiterate our call for the conflicting parties to immediately and fully respect this law and human rights law, including the principles of necessity, distinction, precaution and proportionality.
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How do you describe the humanitarian situation in Gaza two months after the war?
We affirm that there is no safe place in Gaza today, and by all standards you can think of, the situation of Palestinian civilians in the besieged Strip is catastrophic. Families have already lost everything they own, and 80% of the population has been displaced, forced to move south, to small, crowded spaces, without… Provide any of the necessities they need to survive.
We are aware of the deadly danger to children as a result of the absence and depletion of safe, clean water, which forces them to drink dirty and salty water and be exposed to diseases, in addition to people sleeping on bare concrete floors in the cold and in the open, and the suffering of 1.1 million children in the Gaza Strip from food insecurity.
The ongoing conflict has exacerbated the pressure on health systems, and until the pre-war period, 1 in 4 pregnant women faced high-risk conditions, with anemia affecting 25%, and premature birth occurring in 23% of cases.
Primary health care service operations also have limited coverage, due to access problems, and operate at suboptimal levels. With immunization services disrupted, the risk of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases has become imminent.
Water scarcity and unsafe sanitation increase the risk of diseases, especially chronic diarrhea, among children, and brackish agricultural well water exposes them to harmful chemicals and a high level of salinity, which particularly threatens the health of vulnerable groups such as newborns, children and women.
In fact, medical teams have noted a rise in cases of acute respiratory disorders, diarrhea and hepatitis A, including among children under the age of five, and the fact that untreated sewage is being discharged into the Mediterranean increases these concerns.
Nearly 30,000 children under the age of five in Gaza suffered from stunted growth, while more than 7,600 children suffered from wasting. Today, continued bombing has halted life-saving malnutrition prevention, screening and treatment services that previously reached 340,000 children under the age of five.
Therefore, we expect that the rate of child wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition for children, will increase over the next few months by approximately 30%. Meanwhile, up to 5,000 of them may be severely emaciated and experience serious weight loss and severe immune system dysfunction.
These expectations are considered conservative, but the longer the siege lasts, the greater the probability that these numbers will be proven on the ground.
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What was the first thing that caught your attention when you visited the sector?
Colleagues who met the children told us there were unspeakable things that no child should have to endure: there were those missing limbs, those suffering from third-degree burns, as well as others unable to speak due to the severe shock of what they witnessed.
In addition, colleagues described what they saw by saying that people were sleeping outside on the ground, crowded together in limited space, and trying to survive.
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The Israeli bombing targets health facilities and schools. What is your position on the tragic life full of blood and killing that the children of Gaza live today?
We affirm that attacks on medical facilities and schools are unacceptable, and constitute a clear violation of international humanitarian law, human rights law, and international agreements, which cannot be overlooked.
The right to seek medical assistance should never be denied, especially in times of crises and wars, as many hospitals have been bombed or closed due to lack of fuel and medicines.
Those who are still working are under enormous pressure and can only provide very limited emergency services, life-saving surgeries and intensive care services.
The shortage of water, food and fuel threatens the safety of thousands of displaced people, including women and children, who have taken refuge in hospitals and surrounding areas.
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What do you think about the Israeli army’s claim that there are “safe areas” to move to? Will you stand by calls to open corridors for civilians?
I want to point out once again that there are no safe zones in the Gaza Strip, and UNICEF strongly opposes the establishment of so-called “safe zones” because this is incorrect and does not exist. On the other hand, the proposed areas do not have the infrastructure or protection measures necessary to meet the needs of these large numbers of civilians.
Civilians who choose to remain in their areas and homes are protected under international humanitarian law and must be protected, and those who decide to move allowed to do so safely. However, as we mentioned above, there is no safe place in Gaza and no place for civilians to go.
Therefore, we believe that the only way to prevent further deaths and be able to reach civilians in a safe and sustainable manner is through an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
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What is your response to those who criticize the absence of the role of international institutions that are supposed to care about human rights?
The whole world is watching the devastation, feeling helpless, and looking to international institutions to see what they are doing, which of course we understand.
In turn, we confirm through the Tel Aviv Tribune Net website that we have been present in the Gaza Strip and providing aid since the beginning of the war, and even before it, and we will continue to do so thanks to our teams present there in response to the urgent needs of children, but at the same time we say that the quantities being entered today are completely insufficient compared to the quantities. required.
It is our responsibility to ensure that world leaders know the consequences of these situations so that a ceasefire can be imposed. If the opposite happens, we will see more Gazan children die, something we cannot allow to happen.
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Have you received any threats or harassment from the Israeli side while carrying out your work in Gaza?
We are able to carry out our work in Gaza without threats, but the current conditions, fighting and lack of access to civilians make it impossible for us to provide aid in the required quantities and in a sustainable way to safely reach those in need.