“We are horrified by the scenes coming out of Gaza. Large number of children among the victims, a million people with nowhere safe to go,” said the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on social networks. “This is unacceptable and the violence should stop immediately,” the entity demanded.
Two days ago, UNICEF said it was extremely concerned with the new escalation of hostilities due to the physical and mental impact that violence has on children. “Nothing justifies the murder, mutilation or kidnapping of children, acts that constitute a serious violation of rights that UNICEF unreservedly condemns,” the organization’s secretary general, Chaterine Russell, said in a statement earlier this week.
“However, reports indicate that serious violations of children’s rights have begun to become widespread,” she said. “I am also deeply concerned by measures to end electricity supply and prevent the entry of food, fuel and water into the Gaza Strip, decisions that may endanger the lives of many minors,” she stressed.
The Palestinian Minister of Health, Mai Al-Kaila, warned yesterday of the imminent collapse of healthcare in the Gaza Strip as a result of the serious shortage of medicines, supplies and blood bags caused by the Israeli blockade. The large number of injured exceeds the capacity of the hospitals, she warned.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) previously warned that hospitals risk becoming morgues due to the lack of electricity enforced by the Israeli blockade.
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