“How many more children will die in Gaza or face unspeakable suffering before the nightmare ends?” asked the organization’s executive director, Catherine Russell, in X. “It is heartbreaking to know that among the latest victims were newborn twins and their mother,” said the official, referring to the death of two babies last week as a result of an Israeli air strike. “It is time for a ceasefire and the unconditional release of the hostages,” she demanded.

Adele Khodr, UNICEF regional director in the Middle East and North Africa, also criticized the conflict earlier this month. “The suffering is enormous and the impact is life-long on a physical and psychological level,” she also wrote in X.

Days before, UNICEF warned about the serious humanitarian situation suffered by the population in Gaza.

“The ongoing hostilities have had an extremely worrying impact on the population, up to 1.9 million people, 90 percent of the total, are internally displaced,” the institution highlighted in a statement, and stressed that the intake of dietary diversity by young children and pregnant women is extremely limited.

UNICEF stated that more than two million Gazans face high levels of acute food insecurity.

As informed by the agency, during the first months of 2024 the indicators showed modest improvements but Israel’s ground offensive against the south of the enclave last May reversed the positive trend.

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