Gaza situation gone from catastrophic to near collapse: UNICEF

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
19 Jan 2024 01:12

The UNICEF deputy executive director stresses the need for "a major breakthrough" to end the current situation in Gaza.

Palestinians mourn their relatives killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, outside a morgue in Rafah, southern Gaza, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Upon concluding his visit to Gaza, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban said that since his last visit to the besieged Strip two months ago, "the situation has gone from catastrophic to near collapse."

This comes as the Ministry of Health in Gaza confirmed that on the 104th day of the aggression, the civilian death toll rose to 24,620 and the number of injured rose to 61,830. The Ministry mentioned that the Israeli occupation committed 15 new massacres in the past 24 hours, resulting in 172 martyrs and 326 injured.

In a statement published on the organization's website, Chaiban recalled that UNICEF has deemed Gaza as "the most dangerous place in the world to be a child" and that "this is a war on children."

"But these truths do not seem to be getting through," he pointed out.

Delving into figures, he highlighted that of the nearly 25,000 people killed in Gaza since the start of the war, "up to 70 per cent are reported to be women and children," stressing that "the killing of children must cease immediately."

According to Chaiban, "Over 1.9 million people, or nearly 85 per cent of Gaza’s population, is now displaced including many who have been displaced multiple times."

Touching on the dire situation that Gazans are living amid the ongoing Israeli aggression, he mentioned that "the sheer mass of civilians on the [Gaza] border is hard to fathom and the conditions they live in are inhumane. Water is scarce and poor sanitation is inescapable. The cold and rain this week created rivers of waste. The little food that is available doesn’t meet children’s unique nutritional needs. As a result, thousands of children are malnourished and sick."

The UNICEF deputy executive director warned that "if this decline persists, we could see deaths due to indiscriminate conflict compounded by deaths due to disease and hunger."

He stressed that "a major breakthrough" is needed, explaining that "this starts with an end to the intense bombardment, which is not only killing thousands, but is also impeding the delivery of aid to survivors."

Chaiban emphasized that more trucks must be allowed to enter the besieged Strip through more crossings, stressing that "there must be fewer restrictions on the kind of aid we can bring in, such as generators for water pumps and pipes to repair water facilities, which are critical to restore the water and sanitation services essential for people’s survival."

The official concluded his statement by saying that UNICEF needs to be granted access to the north of the Gaza Strip, pointing out that the estimated 250,000 to 300,000 people living there "have no access to clean water and barely any food."

"In the first two weeks of January, only 7 of 29 planned aid deliveries have successfully reached their destinations in northern Gaza. Not a single UNICEF convoy has accessed the north of the Gaza Strip in 2024."