UN Guterres puts 'Israel' on list of global offenders against children
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The worldwide list is included in a report on children and armed conflict that will be submitted to the United Nations Security Council on June 14.
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A man mourns over his two daughters killed in Israeli strikes in a hospital morgue in Rafah on April 4, 2024. (AP)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has put the Israeli occupation's military on a global list of offenders who have committed abuses against children, according to "Israel's" outgoing UN ambassador Gilad Erdan, who described the move as "shameful."
Erdan said he received official notification of the verdict on Friday. The worldwide list is included in a report on children and armed conflict that will be submitted to the United Nations Security Council on June 14.
"Israel's" foreign minister, Israel Katz, stated that the decision will influence the country's ties with the United Nations.
Erdan stated that he was alerted by Guterres' chief of staff and shared a video on social media of his reaction to the decision during their phone chat.
He expressed being "utterly shocked and disgusted" by the decision, asserting that the IOF, which have slaughtered over 36,000 Palestinians, the majority women and children, are the "most moral army in the world."
Read more: Harrowing tales of torture inside 'Israel's' Sde Teiman prison: NYT
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed the United Nations had "added itself to the black list of history."
Guterres' yearly report to the 15-member Security Council on children and armed conflict addresses the killing, maiming, sexual assault, kidnapping or recruiting of children, denial of assistance access, and targeting of schools and hospitals.
The list is divided into two categories: parties that have implemented child-protection measures and those that have not. Erdan stated that he was informed that "Israel" had been added to the list of parties that had not implemented necessary child protection measures.
The investigation was produced by Virginia Gamba, Guterres' special representative for children and armed conflict. The list linked to the study tries to embarrass those involved in the hopes of persuading them to undertake child protection measures.
3,500 Gaza children at risk of death amid Israeli starvation tactics
Over 3,500 children in the Gaza Strip are facing an imminent risk of death due to Israeli use of starvation as a method of warfare, the Government Media Office in Gaza revealed in a press statement.
The statement, which calls for immediate global intervention to address the plight of these children, highlights the severity of the situation, noting that children under the age of five are particularly vulnerable.
According to the statement, these children are suffering from severe malnutrition, which has not only impacted their physical health but has also made them susceptible to infectious diseases. Additionally, the ongoing deprivation of basic services, such as healthcare, food, and vaccinations, exacerbates their already dire circumstances.
While the world has plenty of extra food
— The Palestinian (@InsiderWorld_1) March 13, 2024
Kids in Gaza cant find what can make them live! pic.twitter.com/xkuBqxwbll
"Children in the Gaza Strip urgently require comprehensive and immediate intervention to address the systematic crises inflicted upon them by the Israeli occupation," the statement read, affirming that "foremost among these measures is the provision of food, healthcare, nutritional supplements, vaccinations, and specialized child-friendly foods."
Highlighting the necessity of children's "advanced psychological care to cope with the trauma they have experienced," the statement detailed that during the genocide, thousands of children were killed, tens of thousands of others were injured, and more than 17,000 were left orphaned or without both parents."
It also condemned what it termed as "ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity" committed by "Israel", with a particular emphasis on the targeting of children.
