The safety of children must come first in Gaza and Israel

UNICEF continues to call for an immediate ceasefire and unimpeded humanitarian access to Gaza, along with the safe release of all abducted and detained children.

Every child has the right to protection from violence

After six weeks heavy shelling of the Gaza Stripmore than 5,000 children have reportedly been killed and nearly 9,000 injured since a campaign of retaliation began following deadly attacks inside Israel on October 7, including the kidnapping of children.

In Israel last week, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Humanitarian Action and Supply Operations, Ted Chaiban, met with parents whose children are being held hostage in Gaza. “They shared their anguish and fear that deepens every minute, hour and day,” he posted on social media. “I said that UNICEF will continue to do everything in our power to bring these children home where they belong.”

Inside Gaza, there is nowhere safe for 1 million children to turn

“Parties to the conflict are committing grave violations against children; these include killing, maiming, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and denying access to humanitarian aid — all of which UNICEF condemns,” said UNICEF Executive Director Kathryn Russell. “Many children are missing and believed to be buried under the rubble of collapsed houses and buildings — the tragic result of the use of explosive weapons in residential areas.”

As airstrikes and ground attacks continue, the entire population of Gaza—2.2 million people, half of whom are children—needs food aid and are at risk of starvation, according to the World Food Program of the United Nations. Only 10 percent of essential food supplies have entered Gaza since the conflict began.

UNICEF and partners support hospitals struggling to provide emergency care to babies and children

As the number of wounded continues to rise, UNICEF is providing medical and baby supplies to hospitals in southern and central Gaza to support some 244,000 people. On November 19, UNICEF worked with partners to saving 31 premature babies from Al Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza under extremely dangerous conditions and transferred them to Al-Helal Al-Emarati Hospital in the south.

Fuel shortages remain a critical concern for hospitals in Gaza. At Al Nasr Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, tiny babies cling to life in incubators as doctors worry about how to keep machines running without fuel. Newborn babies in need of special care have died in one of Gaza’s hospitals as power and medical supplies run out and violence continues.

More than 100 UNRWA aid workers have died since October

UNICEF staff and their colleagues in Gaza remained in place to deliver the children amid danger and destruction. Over 100 UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) have he was killed since October — the highest number of UN aid workers killed in a conflict in such a short period of time.

Many people, including UNICEF staff and their families, now live in overcrowded shelters with very little water, food or adequate sanitation, conditions that can lead to outbreaks of disease.

UNICEF and partners are pushing for more access to provide essential supplies and services. He needs a lot more help

UNICEF is working with partners to reach families in Gaza humanitarian aid including:

• bottled water, hygiene kits, water purification tablets and collapsible water containers, along with transporting water to shelters serving approximately 1 million people, including 560,000 children
• life-saving medical supplies, including drugs and consumables, and water trucks for hospitals
• solid waste receptacles and cleaning services to address sanitation needs in overcrowded shelters
• humanitarian cash transfers to help families buy basic necessities
• recreational activities for thousands of children
• nutritional supplements for nursing mothers struggling to feed themselves and their babies

As needs soar, unimpeded humanitarian access is essential

UNICEF and partners continue to push for more humanitarian access to deliver urgently needed supplies. Diesel fuel has almost run out, causing some hospitals and health centers to stop operating. Without fuel, desalination plants cannot produce drinking water and humanitarian supplies cannot be distributed.

The intermittent opening of Gaza’s border crossings to humanitarian supplies is insufficient to meet the growing needs. And with winter approaching, the need for fuel could become even more acute.

UNICEF is calling for an immediate ceasefire and the safe release of all abducted and detained children

“I once again call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and assisted, in accordance with international humanitarian law,” Russell said.

“I also call 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 unhindered access to reach those in need with the full range of rescue services and supplies .”

UNICEF will not stop working to meet the needs of children who currently face an urgent and urgent need for protection and humanitarian assistance. Your contribution can make a difference. Please donate today.