War between Israel and Hamas: for UNICEF Gaza is “the most dangerous place in the world for a child”

The Gaza Strip is now “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child”, the head of UNICEF told the UN Security Council on Wednesday, deeming humanitarian breaks “not enough” to stop the “carnage”.

“Over 5,300 Palestinian children are believed to have been killed in just 46 days, that’s 115 children a day, every day, for weeks,” Catherine Russell said after visiting the southern Gaza Strip.

“All children in the region face food insecurity.”

“According to these figures, children account for 40% of deaths in the Gaza Strip. This is an unprecedented case. In other words, the Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” she added, also referring to the 1,200 missing children, some of whom were likely caught in the rubble of the explosions.

In addition to the direct casualties of the fighting, she was concerned about the risks of epidemics, the virtual lack of drinking water, especially for newborns, and the impact on malnutrition.

“End this carnage immediately”

“Children in Gaza are in extreme danger due to disastrous living conditions. One million children, or all children in the territory, face food insecurity, which could soon develop into a catastrophic malnutrition crisis,” she warned. “We estimate that wasting, the most life-threatening form of malnutrition for children, could increase by almost 30% in the Gaza Strip in the coming months.”

“To ensure that children survive so that aid workers can stay and operate, humanitarian breaks are simply not enough,” the UNICEF chief insisted, although he welcomed the agreement announced between Israel and Hamas to release hostages held in the Gaza Strip in exchange for a four-day truce. “UNICEF calls for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire to end this massacre immediately.”