UNICEF head witness grave violations against children in Gaza

Anjali Sharma

GG News Bureau

UNITED NATIONS, 16th Nov. According to the Executive Director of UNICEF Catherine Russell on Wednesday who visited Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in the south of Gaza said that she witnessed grave violations against children, including killing, maiming and abductions are taking place in the Gaza Strip.

Ms. Russell said “Today I visited the Gaza Strip to meet with children, their families and UNICEF staff. What I saw and heard was devastating. They have endured repeated bombardment, loss and displacement. Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza’s one million children to turn.”

UNICEF condemned the grave violations against children; these include killing, maiming, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access by both parties of the conflict.

OCHA reported that over 4,600 children have reportedly been killed, with 9,000 reportedly injured in Gaza.

UNICEF said many children are missing and believed buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings and homes, the tragic result of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.

It stressed that newborn babies who require specialized care have died in one of Gaza’s hospitals as power and medical supplies run out, and violence continues with indiscriminate effect.

Ms. Russell told that she met with patients and displaced families seeking shelter and safety at the Nasser hospital in Khan Yunis,. A 16-year-old girl told me from her hospital bed that her neighborhood had been bombed. She survived but doctors say she will never be able to walk again.

The hospital’s neonatal ward, tiny babies were clinging to life in incubators, as doctors worried how they could keep the machines running without fuel.

She also met UNICEF staff are helping children amidst the danger and devastation.

They shared their own heartbreaking stories with me of the impact of the war on their children, of family members killed, and of how they have been displaced many times over.

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.

The risk to humanitarian actors inside Gaza cannot be overstated. More than 100 UNRWA staff have been killed since October.

UNICEF and the partners are doing everything we can including bringing in desperately needed humanitarian supplies.

The diesel fuel has run out, causing some hospitals and health centers to stop functioning. Without fuel, desalination plants cannot produce drinking water and humanitarian supplies cannot be distributed.

Ms. Russell said that the intermittent opening of Gaza’s border crossings to shipments of humanitarian supplies is insufficient to meet the skyrocketing needs. And with winter around the corner, the need for fuel could become even more acute. When I left Gaza today, the rain was pounding down, adding to the misery.

“I am here to do whatever I can to advocate for the protection of children. I once again call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and assisted, as per international humanitarian law. Only the parties to the conflict can truly stop this horror,” she said

She called on the parties to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, to safely release all abducted and detained children, and to ensure that humanitarian actors have safe, sustained and unimpeded access to reach those in need with the full range of lifesaving services and supplies.”

Ms. Russell condemned the “grave violations” against children committed by the parties to the conflict and said that she was in Gaza “to do whatever I can to advocate for the protection of children”.

“Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza’s one million children to turn,” she said, highlighting that more than 4,600 children have reportedly been killed and nearly 9,000 injured.

Many children are believed buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings, “the tragic result of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas”, she said.

She described hearing harrowing stories from her agency’s staff on the ground and stressed the high risk to humanitarian actors operating inside Gaza. Since 7 October 102 staff members of UNRWA have been killed in the enclave.

Ms. Russell reiterated calls for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, the release of all abducted and detained children, and for “safe, sustained and unimpeded access” for humanitarians to people in need.

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