The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced that the Gaza Strip has become the most dangerous place in the world for children, in light of the continued Israeli aggression, which has so far led to the death of more than 16,000 Palestinians, most of whom are women and children.
Director of the organization’s branch in the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khader, said, “The Gaza Strip has become the most dangerous place in the world for children after about one million children were forcibly displaced from their homes.”
She added, “Reports indicate that dozens of children are killed and injured every day. Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school, have turned into piles of rubble, lifeless.”
Khader stated, in a statement, that UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies have been sounding the alarm for weeks.
She explained that the organization’s team on the ground conducted interviews with children who lost limbs and suffered third-degree burns, and children who were traumatized by the ongoing violence surrounding them.
She said that about one million children had been forcibly displaced from their homes. They are now being pushed further south into small, crowded areas without water, food or protection, putting them at increasing risk of respiratory infections and waterborne diseases. Their lives are further threatened by dehydration, malnutrition and disease.
Another death sentence
She considered that the restrictions and challenges imposed on the delivery of life-saving aid to the Gaza Strip were another death sentence for children.
She stressed that the quantities being brought in are not at all sufficient compared to the level of need, as aid distribution has become a greater challenge than ever due to bombing and fuel shortages.
She stressed that an immediate and permanent humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to end the killing and wounding of children, the only way to protect civilians, and to enable the urgent delivery of life-saving aid.
She called for the need to allow humanitarian aid to enter on a large scale to prevent further suffering.
“UNICEF and humanitarian organizations must have safe access to all children and their families wherever they are in the Gaza Strip, including the north,” she said.
“The world is watching helplessly, and we cannot act fast enough,” she lamented.