GENEVA: The United Nations sounded a distressing alarm on Tuesday, declaring the Gaza Strip a “graveyard” for thousands of innocent Palestinian children as Israel intensified brutalities against Palestinians. Since October 7, Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza, resulting in a devastating toll on civilians, particularly children.
The Gaza health ministry reported that Israeli strikes have claimed the lives of more than 8,500 people, the majority being civilians. UNICEF, the UN children’s agency, expressed deep concern that the number of child casualties directly resulting from the bombardment could escalate dramatically.
“Our gravest fears about the reported numbers of children killed becoming dozens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands were realized in just a fortnight,” stated UNICEF spokesman James Elder. “The numbers are appalling; reportedly more than 3,450 children killed; staggeringly this rises significantly every day.”
Elder emphasized that the situation in Gaza has become dire, not only due to the direct impact of the attacks but also because more than one million children in the region are suffering from a severe lack of clean water. Gaza’s water production capacity has plummeted to just five percent of its usual daily output, posing a significant threat of child deaths, especially among infants, due to dehydration.
“Gaza’s water production capacity is a mere five per cent of its usual daily output. Child deaths — particularly infants — due to dehydration are a growing threat,” warned Elder.
Urgent Humanitarian Ceasefire in Gaza
UNICEF urgently called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, demanding that all access crossings into Gaza be opened to facilitate safe, sustained, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, including water, food, medical supplies, and fuel.
“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,” Elder stressed.
UN humanitarian agency spokesman Jens Laerke described the heartbreaking situation, stating, “It’s almost unbearable to think about children buried under rubble, but [with] very little opportunity or possibility for getting them out.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) highlighted the multifaceted crisis in Gaza, emphasizing that people were not only dying from direct bombardment but also facing imminent public health catastrophes due to mass displacement, overcrowding, and damage to water and sanitation infrastructure.
