Calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire amid the looming mass displacement, the overcrowding, and the damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, the UNICEF spokesperson has also flagged the lack of clean water access to children in Gaza.
KHAN YOUNIS — The Gaza Strip has become a graveyard for children and thousands of kids have died in relentless Israeli bombardment of the coastal strip, UNICEF, a United Nations agency, said on Tuesday. The agency also flagged the lack of “clean water, mass displacement, the overcrowding, and the damage to water and sanitation infrastructure” amid airstrikes by Israel.
Since October 7 when Hamas fighters, dominant in the Gaza Strip, stormed across the border and launched a multi-fold attack on Israel, the Jewish state has heavily bombarded the neighbouring state. In the early hours of October 7, Hamas fighters infiltrated the Israeli territory, killing 1,400 people.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza has said that the Israeli strikes have so far killed over 8,500 civilians including approximately 4,000 children. As Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israel continues to batter Gaza with strikes to “root out Hamas terrorists”, the world agencies have highlighted that the number of children affected by the pounding of Gaza could rise.
UNICEF spokesman James Elder said, “Our gravest fears about the reported numbers of children killed becoming dozens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands were realised in just a fortnight. The numbers are appalling; reportedly more than 3,450 children killed; staggeringly this rises significantly every day.”
“Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.”
The UNICEF spokesperson said the lives of children in Gaza should have been saved. In the absence of greater humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip, the number of deaths could just be the tip of the iceberg, the UNICEF spokesperson said.
While calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire amid the looming mass displacement, the overcrowding, and the damage to water and sanitation infrastructure, the UNICEF spokesperson has also flagged the lack of clean water access to the children.
“Gaza’s water production capacity is a mere five percent of its usual daily output. Child deaths — particularly infants — to dehydration are a growing threat,” he said, adding, “And if there is no ceasefire, no water, no medicine, and no release of abducted children, then we hurtle towards even greater horrors afflicting innocent children.” — Agencies
