Gaza world’s most dangerous place for children — UNICEF

AMMAN — UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Adele Khodr has said that Gaza is the world’s “most dangerous place for children”.

“Scores of children are reportedly being killed and injured on a daily basis.  Entire neighborhoods, where children used to play and go to school have been turned into stacks of rubble, with no life in them,” Khodr said.

 In a statement made available for The Jordan Times, the official said, “UNICEF and other humanitarian actors have been ringing the alarm for weeks. Our team on the ground describe meeting children with missing limbs and third-degree burns, and children left shell-shocked by the continuing violence that surrounds them.”

 “Close to one million children have been forcibly displaced from their homes. They are now being pushed further and further south into tiny, overcrowded areas without water, food or protection, putting them at increased risk of respiratory infections and waterborne disease. Their lives are further threatened by dehydration, malnutrition and disease,” Khodr said. 

 “The restrictions and challenges being placed on the delivery of lifesaving aid going into and across the Gaza Strip are another death sentence for children. The quantities going in are nowhere near adequate compared to the level of need, and aid distribution has become an ever-greater challenge due to bombing and lack of fuel. The humanitarian system is buckling, particularly under the extreme strain caused by the measures imposed after the end of the ceasefire, as the population is pushed further into despair.” 

The official called for an “immediate and long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza to end the killing and injuring of children and enable the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid into the besieged costal enclave. 

“Humanitarian aid must be allowed in at scale to prevent further suffering.  UNICEF and the humanitarian organisations must have safe access to all the children and their families wherever they are in the Gaza Strip, including in the north.   

“The world is watching, helpless and devastated — we cannot act quickly enough. This must stop immediately.”