AMMAN, Jordan: The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said that the killing of children by Israeli bombardment cannot be justified in Gaza.
“These are not numbers. These are lives cut short. Killing children cannot be justified,” Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on X. “Those who survive are scarred physically and emotionally,” he added on Monday.
He warned that the clock was ticking for these children. “They are losing their lives, their futures, and mostly their hope,” said the UNRWA chief.
He added that deprived of learning, boys and girls in Gaza sift through the rubble.
No place for children.
Since the beginning of the war 14,500 children have been reported killed in #Gaza according to @UNICEF.
One child gets killed every hour.
These are not numbers
These are lives cut short.Killing children cannot be justified.
Those who survive are…
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) December 23, 2024
According to UNICEF since the war started in Gaza between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023, at least 14,500 children have been killed in the Palestinian enclave.
The UN body in a statement said the children in Gaza are cold, sick, and traumatised. It said hunger and malnutrition, and the dire living conditions more broadly, continue to put the lives of children at risk.
“Right now, over 96% of women and children in Gaza cannot meet their basic nutritional needs. Most are surviving on rationed flour, lentils, pasta, and canned food—a diet that slowly compromises their health,” the statement added.
Gaza Death Toll
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 45,317 Palestinians, mostly women and children, the territory’s health ministry said on Sunday.
Over 107,713 people have been wounded in the ongoing Israeli bombardment campaign, according to the latest daily update by the Health Ministry in the besieged territory.
The health ministry said 58 people were killed and 86 wounded during the last 24-hour-reporting period.
Meanwhile, Israeli and Hamas officials have said that gaps between the two sides over a possible Gaza ceasefire have narrowed, though crucial differences have yet to be resolved as Israeli strikes killed at least 58 people during the last 24 hours in Gaza.
A fresh bid by mediators Egypt, Qatar, and the United States to end the ongoing bombardment campaign and release Israeli and foreign hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails has gained momentum this month, though no breakthrough has yet been reported.
