UNICEF on Friday underscored the unprecedented mental health catastrophe facing Palestinian children in Gaza, describing the situation as unparalleled in modern history.

"We don't have an example in modern history in terms of an entire child population needing mental health support,” spokesperson James Elder told a UN briefing in Geneva. “We are losing a generation in terms of education and in terms of a mental health crisis that we've not seen before.”

Elder condemned the deliberate denial of children's rights in Gaza and urged those in power to take action.  

He further revealed that 180,000 doses of critical childhood vaccines and incubators for premature babies have been blocked at the border since the Israeli occupation cut off humanitarian aid in early March.  

“Protecting children, getting aid to children is not optional, it's law,” he stressed.

UN decries Gaza children 'massive trauma'

The United Nations warned on Friday that all of Gaza's around one million children were facing "massive trauma" as "Israel" resumed its aggression on the strip despite grave assistance shortages.

Humanitarians highlighted an unsettling scenario in Gaza, with an increasing civilian death toll since the occupation renewed strikes on civilians. 

Sam Rose, senior deputy field director in Gaza for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), emphasized the psychological shock for previously traumatized minors to find themselves under bombardment again, calling it a "massive trauma" for one million children in Palestinian territories. 

Speaking to reporters in Geneva from Gaza, he said it was "worse this time," noting that this was "because people are already exhausted, they're already degraded, their immune systems, their mental health, (and) populations on the verge of famine. Children who had come back to school after 18 months out of school, now back in tents,... hearing the bombardment around them constantly."

"It's fear on top of fear, cruelty on top of cruelty, and tragedy on top of tragedy."

Since Tuesday, Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have killed more than 700 Palestinians and wounded over 900, violating the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that had been in place since January.  

Since October 2023, the Israeli occupation’s relentless assault on Gaza has killed nearly 50,000 Palestinians—most of them women and children—and left at least 112,000 injured.  

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