Gaza ‘most dangerous place in the world to be a child’ – UNICEF

According to the head of UNICEF, the Gaza Strip is the “most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” as said on Wednesday.

At the U.N. Security Council on October 7, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said that over 5,300 Palestinian children have reportedly died since Hamas militants assaulted Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping the majority of the civilian population.

Israel’s counterattack against Hamas has been concentrated in Gaza, a region home to 2.3 million Palestinians.

“The lives of the children affected by this most recent conflict in Palestine and Israel, both those who perished and those who were forever altered, will bear the actual cost of this conflict. Russell, who visited Gaza last week, stated at a council briefing on women and children there that “the cost will continue to grow exponentially” until the violence stops and humanitarian access is granted.

Israel has launched aerial bombardments, laid siege to Gaza, and launched a tank and infantry invasion.

“The Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” Russell stated. “In Gaza, the effects of the violence perpetrated on children have been catastrophic, indiscriminate, and disproportionate.”

On Wednesday, Israel and Hamas agreed to a four-day truce in return for at least 150 Palestinians who are detained in Israel, humanitarian supplies, and the release of at least 50 terrorist captives.

“Gaza women have told us that while they pray for peace, they also pray for a speedy death while they are sleeping and holding their children.” “Any mother, anywhere, who has such a prayer should shame us, aU.N. U.N. Women Executive Director Sima Bahous said to the council’s fifteen members.

Israel accuses Hamas of abusing children

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, reiterated long-standing accusations that the UN is biased against Israel and accused Hamas of abusing children in Gaza for years.

“Make no mistake; as soon as the pause ends, we will continue striving towards our goals with full force,” he declared. “We will not stop until we eliminate all of Hamas’ terror capabilities and ensure that they can no longer rule Gaza and threaten both Israeli civilians and the women and children of Gaza.”

Hamas disputes that it uses people as human shields and that it operates out of locations like Gaza’s hospitals.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailed the cease-fire deal as “an important step in the right direction, but much more needs to be done to end the suffering.”

The president of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the global organization for sexual and reproductive health, informed the Security Council that 5,500 pregnant women are anticipated to give birth in Gaza in the upcoming month.

UNFPA was concerned about 7,000 women who gave birth over the past 47 days and lacked access to care, water, sanitation, and nutrition. “Every day, approximately 180 women deliver under appalling conditions, leaving the future for their newborns uncertain,” said Executive Director Natalia Kanem.