to report «iusnews»; "Grave violations" against children are occurring in Gaza, the UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement Wednesday, one day after her visit to the territory.
“The parties to the conflict are committing grave violations against children; these include killing, maiming, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access – all of which UNICEF condemns,” the statement read, CNN reported.
Russell added that in addition to the thousands of children killed and wounded, many are missing and believed to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings, which she called “the tragic result of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.”
She said that UNICEF staff are continuing their work on behalf of Gaza’s children despite being directly impacted by the conflict themselves.
“Many people, including our staff and their families, are now living in overcrowded shelters with very little water, food or decent sanitation – conditions which could lead to disease outbreaks.” she said.
Russell called for an immediate ceasefire to allow for more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza, especially fuel – some is expected to reach Gaza on Wednesday, the first to reach the territory since Hamas' October 7 attacks on Israel.
UNICEF says more than 700,000 children have been displaced since the conflict began. Of the 11,500 Palestinians killed as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza, more than 4,630 were children, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah.
Israel waged the war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas carried out the surprise Operation Al-Aqsa Storm into the occupied territories in response to the occupying regime’s intensified crimes against the Palestinian people.
It has also imposed a “complete siege” on the coastal sliver, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
Israeli forces have targeted hospitals, residential neighbourhoods, ambulances, mosques, and other civilian infrastructure. Entire neighbourhoods in the besieged enclave have been completely levelled as Israel's military advances in Northern Gaza.
