GAZA: At least 100 Palestinian children have been killed or injured each day in Gaza since Israel resumed its military offensive on 18 March, breaking a brief ceasefire, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini said.
In a statement shared on social media, Lazzarini described the situation as “harrowing”, citing data from the UN children’s agency, UNICEF.
“Since the strikes resumed, at least 100 children are reported killed or injured every day in Gaza,” he said.
He stressed that young lives were being “cut short in a war not of children’s making”, and reiterated calls for a renewed ceasefire and urgent measures to protect Gaza’s most vulnerable population.
“This is a stain on our common humanity. Nothing justifies the killing of children, wherever they are. Resume the ceasefire now,” Lazzarini said.
According to UNRWA, over 15,000 children have been killed since the war began more than 18 months ago.
Lazzarini said the brief ceasefire earlier this year had offered Gaza’s children a rare glimpse of survival and normalcy, but the renewal of hostilities has once again “robbed them of that opportunity”, describing the enclave as now “no land” for children.
Pakistan calls for halt to Israeli aggression
Meanwhile, Pakistan has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to take immediate action to halt what it described as Israel’s “aggression” in Gaza.
Addressing a UNSC meeting on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, said that Israel’s actions constitute a blatant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
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The emergency session was convened by Algeria with support from Pakistan, China, Somalia and Russia.
Ambassador Iftikhar said the ongoing crisis in Palestine served as a stark reminder of the global erosion of humanitarian principles.
“The international community cannot afford to remain silent,” he urged.
Meanwhile, Israel on Friday launched a fresh ground offensive in Gaza City, with its military announcing operations in the Shujaiya neighbourhood aimed at “expanding the security zone”.
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According to Gaza’s civil defence agency, at least 30 people were killed across the Palestinian territory in Israeli operations since dawn.
A separate Israeli strike in the southern city of Khan Younis reportedly killed at least 25 people, according to medical sources at Nasser Hospital.
In an eyewitness account, Elena Helles, a Gaza resident, said, as cited by AFP, that she and her family were trapped in her sister’s house amid intense bombardment.
“The situation is very dangerous, and there is death coming at us from every direction,” she said via text message.
