GAZA (SW) – Catherine Russell, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, has warned that Gaza Strip is once again “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child” following the resumption of the war.
Russell said that hundreds more children will be died and injured each day if violence returns at the scale and intensity seen before the seven-day pause in fighting that ended on Friday.
“It does not have to be this way – for seven days, there was a glimmer of hope for children amidst this horrific nightmare,” Russell said in a statement on Friday.
The statement adds that more than 30 children held hostage in Gaza were safely released and reunited with their families. “The humanitarian pause enabled an increase in the delivery of lifesaving supplies into and across Gaza.”
All children in the State of Palestine and Israel deserve peace and hope for a better future.
We call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and assisted.
My statement on the resumption of fighting in Gaza ▶️ https://t.co/jcbyOAEZVS
— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) December 1, 2023
“Children need a lasting humanitarian ceasefire,” Russell added.
“We call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and assisted, in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law. All children in the State of Palestine and Israel deserve peace and hope for a better future.”
According to the statement, before the pause, more than 5,300 Palestinian children were reportedly killed in 48 days of relentless bombing – “a figure that does not include many children still missing and presumed to be buried under rubble.”
It should be mentioned that if water, food, medical supplies, blankets and warm clothes are not provided to the needy, “a humanitarian disaster will occur.”
ENDS
