Gaza: 300 children killed in 300 days of Israeli-Hamas ‘ceasefire’
Tweet URL Why it matters Children are still being killed despite ceasefire More babies born premature to hungry mothers Aid agencies say much greater aid
Tweet URL Why it matters Children are still being killed despite ceasefire More babies born premature to hungry mothers Aid agencies say much greater aid access needed A generation of children lack education and other basic services Amid reports of a new United States-led peace plan for the war-torn enclave and a recent spike in Israeli airstrikes on alleged Hamas targets in Gaza, UNICEF stressed that families are now confined to approximately one third of the Strip, sheltering among destroyed buildings, rubble and uncleared waste. “A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children,” said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder. “With hundreds more children injured, many severely, children in Gaza are still waiting for the end to the violence they were promised.” Responding to the reports about the mooted Gaza peace plan, the senior UN official welcomed recent announcements suggesting “steps towards ending hostilities” and scaled-up deliveries of humanitarian relief. “For children in Gaza, the test is simple. Does the killing stop? Does aid reach them at scale? Do hospitals reopen and water flow? Will children return to school safely in September?” Mr. Beigbeder said.
“Children have heard promises before. This time, agreements must translate into action.” Suffering on a huge scale Deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel in October 2023, that sparked the war in Gaza have caused an ongoing humanitarian crisis on an epic scale. In common with many other UN agencies and partners, UNICEF warned once again that across the Strip, children continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe water and damaged sanitation systems. Soundcloud For the duration of the hostilities, the UN has not stopped working to help the people of Gaza. And yet despite repeated calls to flood the enclave with aid – and for the killing to stop – UNICEF health workers describe how exhausted and hungry mothers continue to arrive at health centres carrying their severely malnourished children. Another consequence of this chronic lack of assistance is a worrying increase in premature births, along with more newborns in a critical condition. “There’s not enough incubators and in some cases [health workers are] saying they see two or even three babies sharing a single machine,” explained UNICEF spokesperson Louise Wateridge. “In Gaza, children only days old are already fighting to stay alive, born into partially functioning hospitals lacking equipment and medicine.” Wateridge added: “This is what the world has chosen to tolerate.
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