I\u00a0visited\u00a0the Gaza Strip to meet\u00a0with\u00a0children, their families\u00a0and UNICEF staff.\u00a0What I saw and heard was\u00a0devastating. They have endured repeated bombardment, loss and displacement.\u00a0Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza\u2019s one million children to turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe parties to the conflict are\u00a0committing\u00a0grave violations against children; these include killing,\u00a0maiming, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access \u2013 all of which UNICEF condemns.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Gaza, more than 4,600 children have reportedly been killed, with nearly 9,000 reportedly injured.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany children are missing and believed buried under the rubble of collapsed\u00a0buildings and homes, the tragic result of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas.\u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0newborn\u00a0babies who require specialized care\u00a0have died\u00a0in one of Gaza\u2019s hospitals as power and medical supplies run out, and violence continues with indiscriminate effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the Al Naser hospital in Khan Yunis, I met with patients and displaced families seeking shelter and safety. A 16-year-old girl told me from her hospital bed that her neighborhood had been bombed. She survived but doctors say she will never be able to walk again.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the hospital\u2019s neonatal ward, tiny babies were clinging to life in incubators, as doctors worried how they could keep the machines running without fuel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring my\u00a0time in Gaza, I\u00a0also met with UNICEF staff who are continuing to deliver for children amidst the danger and devastation.\u00a0They\u00a0shared\u00a0their own heartbreaking\u00a0stories\u00a0with me\u00a0of the\u00a0impact of the war on their\u00a0children,\u00a0of\u00a0family\u00a0members killed,\u00a0and\u00a0of\u00a0how they\u00a0have been\u00a0displaced many times over.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people, including our staff and their families, are\u00a0now living in overcrowded\u00a0shelters with very little water, food\u00a0or\u00a0decent sanitation \u2013 conditions which could lead to disease outbreaks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe risk to humanitarian actors inside Gaza cannot be overstated.\u00a0More than 100 UNRWA staff have\u00a0been killed\u00a0since October.<\/p>\n
\u201cUNICEF and our partners are\u00a0doing\u00a0everything\u00a0we can, including bringing in desperately needed humanitarian supplies.\u00a0But diesel fuel has practically run out, causing some hospitals and health centers to stop functioning. Without fuel, desalination plants cannot produce drinking water and humanitarian supplies cannot be distributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe intermittent opening of Gaza\u2019s border crossings to shipments of humanitarian supplies is insufficient to meet the skyrocketing needs. And with winter around the corner, the need for fuel could become even more acute. When I left Gaza today, the rain was pounding down, adding to the misery.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am here to do whatever I can to advocate for the protection of children. I once again call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and assisted, as per international humanitarian law. Only the parties to the conflict can truly stop this horror.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also call on the parties to implement an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, to safely release all abducted and detained children, and to ensure that humanitarian actors have safe, sustained and unimpeded access to reach those in need with the full range of lifesaving services and supplies.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I\u00a0visited\u00a0the Gaza Strip to meet\u00a0with\u00a0children, their families\u00a0and UNICEF staff.\u00a0What I saw and heard was\u00a0devastating. They have endured repeated bombardment, loss and displacement.\u00a0Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11756,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[288,98,289],"tags":[169],"class_list":["post-11760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-studies","category-featured-posts","category-news","tag-gaza-children_rights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11760"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11762,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11760\/revisions\/11762"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mindsforcommunity.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}