According to the UN, Gaza has become a “graveyard” for thousands of children
Since October 7, an average of 420 Palestinian children have been killed or injured every day in the Gaza Strip.
The Gaza Strip is now a graveyard for thousands of children, the United Nations said, warning of the possibility of more deaths from dehydration in Israel's war against the besieged enclave. The Israeli military has expanded its air and ground strikes on Gaza - including on homes and hospitals - which has been under constant airstrikes since the Palestinian group Hamas' surprise offensive on October 7, which Israeli officials said killed 1,400 people in Israel. Gaza's health ministry said more than 8,500 Palestinians, mostly children and women, were killed.
“Our greatest fears, that the number of children killed would rise to dozens, then hundreds and finally thousands, came true in just two weeks,” James Elder, spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said in a press conference. statement on Tuesday. . .
“The numbers are frightening; More than 3,450 children are believed to have died; Surprisingly, this number is increasing significantly every day.
“Gaza has become a cemetery for thousands of children. It's hell for everyone.
Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, also said that at least 6,300 children were injured in the Israeli attacks. That means an average of 420 Palestinian children are killed or injured in the Gaza Strip every day, he explained.“These numbers should shock and shake us to our core,” Russell said.
The Authority called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the opening of all border crossings into the Gaza Strip to ensure safe, sustainable and unimpeded access to humanitarian assistance, including water, food, medical supplies and fuel.
“What if there was no ceasefire, no water, no medicine and no release of the kidnapped children? “We are therefore racing toward greater horrors affecting innocent children,” Elder said.
The spokesman said that, according to the Ministry of Health, about 940 children were missing in Gaza.UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
spokesperson Jens Laerke added: “It is almost unbearable to think of children buried under rubble, but there are very few resources and means to recover them.”
Threats Beyond Bombs
Israel's blockade of Gaza has also cut off supplies of fuel, electricity, and water to Gaza and reduced aid deliveries to a minimum that is no longer able to meet the needs of the 2.3 million Palestinians there.
Elder said threats against children “go beyond bombs,” noting that water and trauma are among other threats facing the besieged Palestinian enclave.
He warned that more than a million children in Gaza are facing a severe water crisis, with Gaza's daily water production representing 5% of its capacity.
“Therefore, infant deaths due to dehydration, particularly infant deaths due to dehydration, pose a growing threat,” he said. Referring to the trauma, the spokesman said: “When the fighting finally ends, the cost to children and their communities will be borne by future generations.” »
Elder noted that before the current conflict began, it was estimated that more than 800,000 children in Gaza - three-quarters of the total child population - needed psychiatric care and psychological support.
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Relief and Works (UNRWA), said that almost 70 percent of the Palestinians killed in the Gaza Strip in the last three weeks were children and women. The number of
children killed in Gaza since October 7 exceeds the number of children killed annually in conflict zones worldwide since 2019, it said. "This cannot be 'collateral damage,'" he said Monday evening, adding that there was no safe place in the area blocked by intense Israeli fire.