MIDDLE EAST CRISIS
Gaza Strip ‘the most dangerous place in the world’ for children — Unicef
Unicef has declared the Gaza Strip the most dangerous place in the world to be a child. As the Israel-Gaza war passes the 75-day mark, it is estimated that children account for 40% of deaths in the Strip.
It has been just over 75 days since the outbreak of the Israel-Gaza war. Children, who make up about half the population in the Gaza Strip, have been disproportionately affected by the ongoing violence, facing displacement, disease and overwhelming levels of destruction.
The most recent statistics from the Ministry of Health in Gaza put the death toll in the region at 20,000, with a further 55,000 people injured.
Palestinian volunteers hand food to children among tents set up for Palestinians seeking refuge on the grounds of a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees centre at the Khan Yunis refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, on 25 October 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Haitham Imad)
“Based on the figures that we have, children account for about 40% of the deaths in Gaza, and that’s unprecedented,” said Tess Ingram, a spokesperson of Unicef based in Amman, Jordan.
“Unicef has been calling for an immediate and long-lasting humanitarian ceasefire…. that’s the one thing that we think will make the biggest difference in the lives of children in Israel and Gaza at the moment.
“That ceasefire needs to happen as soon as possible so that… we can get aid into and across Gaza safely.”
Read more in Daily Maverick: Israel-Palestine War
In recent days, the United Nations Security Council has repeatedly delayed voting on a draft resolution seeking more aid for Gaza and a suspension of hostilities by parties to the conflict.
According to a BBC report, the United States – a close ally of Israel – has insisted on changes to the resolution.
This comes after the US vetoed a previous UN Security Council vote for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the conflict.
“This vote has been delayed for days, but it comes after weeks of discussion of a ceasefire and only a short humanitarian pause… Every day that this goes on, more and more children are dying, and so it’s something that needs to happen with absolute urgency,” said Ingram.
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Secondary health concerns
Unicef has reported 100,000 cases of diarrhoea among children in Gaza, with half of these cases occurring in children under five years of age. Ingram pointed out that diarrhoea is the second-leading cause of death in children under five, making the explosion of cases in Gaza a “red alert” issue.
A Palestinian mother with her children walks out of the West Bank Jenin camp, heading to a safer area as Israeli forces raid the refugee camp for a third consecutive day on 14 December 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Alaa Badarneh)
“People are having to resort to open defecation or unclean water sources that might be too salty or that might be polluted. That really increases the risk of diseases like diarrhoea. There have also been reports of lice, scabies, chicken pox, skin rashes, jaundice and acute respiratory infections,” she said.
Many people in southern Gaza have access to only 1.5 to two litres of water a day, she continued. This is less than the three litres per day a person requires for basic survival.
“Food is another massive challenge… It’s very, very difficult for the people of Gaza to have access to nutritional food at the moment. I spoke to a colleague who said there are lines of four, five, six hours for a bread ration which most people might have to share with their whole family,” reported Ingram.
“We’re really worried about what that means for women and the children, but particularly for babies. We estimate that there are about 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza and about… 5,500 who give birth each month…
“When you think about a child being born into war from a mother who hasn’t had good access to nutritional food or clean water, that raises a lot of concerns about the health of both the mother and the child.”
Unicef has been working to bring aid into Gaza, including clean water, nutritional supplements for mothers and newborn babies, and “therapeutic food” – a paste with high nutritional value given to severely malnourished children.
Pro-Palestinian protesters laid more than 450 symbolic children’s coffins in remembrance of the children killed in Gaza, outside Downing Street in London on 30 November 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Tolga Akmen)
“However, factors such as airstrikes, telecommunications blackouts and shortages of fuel have made it very difficult to get aid into and across the area, according to Ingram.
More than 30 child hostages taken into Gaza by Hamas after its violent incursion into Israel on 7 October have been released, she said. The number of child hostages that may still be held by the militant group is unconfirmed.
“It was something that we were calling for very strongly right from the beginning – that all hostages need to be released, particularly child hostages, to be reunited with their families,” said Ingram.
It has been widely reported that more than 100 of the 240 hostages taken by Hamas remain in Gaza. The BBC reported that 105 hostages were released in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli jails during the six-day ceasefire in November.
Mental health and education
Unicef has observed significant mental health impacts on children affected by the Israel-Gaza war, particularly those living in the Gaza Strip, according to Ingram.
“Before 7 October… you had 90%, 95% of the children in the Gaza Strip needing some form of mental health support, and now we estimate that’s 100%…
“Many of them have lost friends, they’ve lost family, they’ve lost their home. They’ve sustained physical injuries. They don’t feel safe,” she said.
“In most conflicts, children can leave. They might experience violence or fear, but then they’re able to move to safety. That’s not the case in this crisis. They’re unable to escape and they’re remaining stuck in this cycle of exposure to trauma.”
Toby Fricker, another Unicef representative, told Daily Maverick that it was hard to know how children would recover from living through “this level of devastation” in the long term.
Palestinians make the crossing from the northern to the southern Gaza Strip along Salah Al Din road on 25 November 2023. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Mohammed Saber)
“Mental wellbeing also impacts on children’s physical wellbeing. As they grow older we see, for example, panic attacks that can set in… The longer things go on, the worse that becomes… as children are more exposed to the violence at an everyday level.”
Children in Gaza have not had access to schooling and education since the start of the conflict in October, continued Fricker, adding that this sets the situation in the region apart from some of the other conflicts in which Unicef has been involved.
“What we usually say is education in emergencies is absolutely critical, because if you keep schools running to a certain degree… and you make sure those schools are protected… it at least provides some normalcy for children who are living through such horrors on an everyday basis,” he said.
“In Gaza, that’s been impossible. The level of destruction, the level of horror, has meant every school has closed.”
There are about 625,000 learners in Gaza, according to Ingram. Reports issued by the Ministry of Education in the region state that more than 3,800 learners and over 200 school staff have died in the conflict.
“One of the other things to note is the destruction of school facilities… About 70% of schools have been damaged or destroyed. So, it does raise a question about the future.
“What sort of work is going to need to be done to restore those facilities and education for children of Gaza?” she said.
“Unicef has been in there assessing the damage and also the available spaces left for temporary learning and for the recreational activities that we run.” DM
Hamas has created this death zone for children. The world needs to stand up to them for the sake of the innocents and to bring about peace. Palestinians will never be free under the brutal Hamas leadership.
Lil Mars you got your facts wrong, Hamas brutally attacked innocent Israel civilians inside Israel, they put the lives of the children they took as hostages under trauma the death zone in the west bank and Gaza is a decision of choice by Israel using American weapons, the brutal occupation of Palestine and brutal settlements is a decision of choice by Israel with the support of European allies mostly Britain and America long before Hamas came into the picture with the brutal leadership you mention, there is genocide in all areas where Palestinians are living at the moment and we cannot keep sounding like drunken mosquitoes when one nation is being wiped out and another will stay with a legacy that will follow their name where ever they live, even the very people who veto and support them will not want to touch them even with a long pole
My facts are correct. To start with, you can read the Amnesty International reports on Human Rights in Gaza
The Amnesty international report on Israel occupation says it amounts to Apartheid against Palestinians and it calls the by Israel a Genocide, I don’t deny the Hamas report but let’s not choose parts that we like 48 hours ago 400 Palestinians including toddlers have been killed at 4am whilst sleeping
The amnesty report on Hamas is correct , with no independent judiciary and a population under blockade the people have no recourse to challenge them legally. Now with all the reports by Amnesty International and Israeli Human Rights groups on human rights abuses by Israeli’s in East Jerusalen ,West Bank and Gaza , with a “Independent Judiciary ” and a “Western style Democracy” why have Israeli voters accepted this , do they approve with these abuses ?. When they have been challenges to the Supreme Court the court has condoned the abuse.
What utter tripe
The responsibility lies squarely on the Palestinians and with Hamas who they voted in to power. The Palestinians only have themselves to blame. They were complicit knowing full well what was going on beneath their hospitals, schools and mosques. They support Hamas and loudly celebrated the rape and mutilation of young women, babies and old people. If they are in such dire straights why don’t they rise up and overthrow Hamas?
Casualties quoted from Hamas Ministry of Health, meaning a ministry of the government of the day. The first duty of a government is to ensure the safety of its people. Why doesn’t that government in Gaza ensure the safety of its civilians?
Good question Allan but is that the licence Israel needed to kill 20000 Palestinians?Israel counted 1200 civillians they failed to protect was it the licence Hamas needed kill those civillians, Israel is a world army with all sorts of weapons from allies aimed daily on people they occupy and kill most of them unarmed are we asking why an inferior militant organisation didn’t protect them, simply maths says that field can never be level let’s face the truth and call out all the perpetrators in this conflict in what they all contributed prior and after october7
Simple maths would say Hamas knew the consequences – the reality is Hamas WANTED this response and have publicly stated they want to martyr their people to claim a moral victory.
You are repeating, yet again, the same line of Netanhayu propaganda that you always fish out as justification for the terrible situation in Gaza.
There is hardly any proof that anything “was going on beneath their hospitals, schools and Mosques.” By contrast the destruction of these facilities by the IDF primarily by means of airstrikes and bombing is obvious for all to see.
In addition your comment regarding Palestinians celebrating alleged Hamas atrocities against women, babies and old men is open to debate as indeed are the extent of the alleged atrocities. There is no doubt that Hamas attacked innocent civilians, killing many and taking others hostage and that this is inexcusable. Israel’s reaction has however been disproportionate and is obviously motivated by revenge more than by the destruction of Hamas.
It may be ‘excusable’ when taken in the context of being an occupied people who is if not killed, are imprisoned daily, by the thousands, for resisting occupation … and humiliation ! The UN and anyone who works for it (health workers, teachers, journalists etc) have been labeled ‘terrorists’ as they did the ANC (Umkonto) some decades ago. The same modus operandi of ‘demonising’ any resistance to occupation !
Your take on Genocide is increase population? very the English dictionary as Einstein said: The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.
You mean the annihilation of an entire population and all its infrastructure , including journalists … is equal to genius ? Verily have I come across such genocidal hubris … parading as genius !
Hahahaha – if genocide was the intent it would have all been over within a week. Your constant claims of genocide are just ludicrous and sensationalist without any shred of evidence
When Hamas planned their attack their strategy predicted and hoped for exactly the response that Israel came up with. Neither Hamas nor the Israeli coalition government wants peace because this war strengthens their political power in times when both were weak.
There will never be peace while opposing fundamentalists are in charge.
Johan the concern here is innocent Palestinians including the elderly,women, children,the disabled and toddlers not Hamas, I haven’t seen children and toddlers voting in the world, let me put it this way the South African nation must enjoy crime,rape, loadshedding, looting and killings because some of them voted the ANC into power if you don’t agree but agree it is ok in Palestine then you suffer from chronic bias against the Palestinians
I have great difficulty connecting the dots in your logic so I’ll make myself clearer:
Both Hamas and the Israeli government are batshit crazy rabid dogs hellbent on war BECAUSE war suits both their political power games. Innocents on both sides suffer. Peace in the middle east would bring moderates into power in Palestine and Israeli territories.
Number of posts by Sec. Gen. UN Guitierres on X
7 million people being displaced in Sudan 0
1.8 Afghan refugees expelled by Pakistan. 0
3 million children fleeing Darfur. 0
DarfurSudan France presence
Afghan Post American presence
Sudan post France presence
Israel present American and Britain presence
Ukraine present European union led by America’s presence, doesn’t that ring a bell
Bullsh!t
If Hamas really care for their people (which they obviously do not) they should simply surrender and hand over all the hostages. The war would be over and the rebuilding of Gaza could begin. What is so difficult about this?
Oh what a contradiction if your comments were convincing to you, I expected you to say Palestinians must bring back the hostages, your own statements have clarified who committed those heinous act against the Israel civillians and it will make sense then that Hamas deserve to be punished not the Palestinians and like wise if Israel committed heinous acts in the past or in the present they deserved and deserve to be punished to me that is basic common sense
If Israel really wanted peace they would release all Palestinian prisoners, stop all illegal settlement in the West Bank and indeed remove all those who have settled illegally.
Oh please, there are no hostages in Israel, they are prisoners who were jailed for committing crimes in Israel – a fact the blind supporters of Hamas choose to ignore
The fundamentalist Hamas needs to be stopped and removed from the evils it perpetrates on humanity – both Palestinian and Israeli. They are murderous lunatics who want sharia across the world. Israel is a liberal democracy at the forefront of this battle on behalf of humanity.
You seem to be confusing Hamas and Isis as well as confusing Israel with the term liberal.
You seem to be unaware that the liberal Israel is the only country in the Middle East which tolerates gays. There are also Arab MPs and judges in Israel. How many Jews are in similar positions in any other ME country?
“Tolerating” gays does not make a state liberal by itself.
The Arab MPs and judges are citizens of Israel, how many Jews are citizens of other ME countries?
I’m not confused about anything
So the UN got it wrong about the settlements and the occupation including the Golan Heights, so they are wrong about the Russian occupation in Ukraine Steve please come back to the real world we need you
“it is estimated that children account for 40% of deaths ”
vs:
“Children, who make up about half the population in the Gaza Strip, have been disproportionately affected”.
Did a 30-percenter write this article? Logically speaking, if they were disproportionately affected, the child fatalities would have had to exceed 50% (the child population is 50%.)
Israel claims the IDF is killing women and children because they are being used as “human shields” by Hamaz. I find this claim completely nonsensical and false.
How can a woman and child on the top floor of an apartment building be a human shield to Hamaz?
How can women and children in schools and hospitals be human shields to Hamaz when the world sees countless pictures and videos indicating that this is not so? Nor has the IDF brought any proof that this is so.
All we have is the word of the IDF that there are tunnels beneath the buildings in Gaza. This may or may not be true, however, this does not entitle the IDF to claim that the women and children on top of those tunnels are human shields.
In my opinion the term ” human shield” is intended to cover up the atrocity of a genocide that is taking place.
Hahahaha – none so blind as those that will not see
This is my 2nd comment
Israel claims the IDF is killing women and children because they are being used as “human shields” by Hamaz. I find this claim completely nonsensical and false.
How can a woman and child on the top floor of an apartment building be a human shield to Hamaz?
How can women and children in schools and hospitals be human shields to Hamaz when the world sees countless pictures and videos indicating that this is not so? Nor has the IDF brought any proof that this is so.
All we have is the word of the IDF that there are tunnels beneath the buildings in Gaza. This may or may not be true, however, this does not entitle the IDF to claim that the women and children on top of those tunnels are human shields.
In my opinion the term ” human shield” is intended to cover up the atrocity of a genocide that is taking place.
You answered your own question perfectly. If you build tunnels under a school you are using the children who are in that school as a human shield. If you launch rockets from the grounds of a hospital you are using the patients and doctors in the hospital as a human shield. If you fire at soldiers from within a mosque you are using the worshipers in that mosque as a human shield. If the entrance to a tunnel is within an apartment block then the residents of that apartment are human shields. Is it that difficult to understand?
The tunnels were build to bring in essential goods that Israel was blocking including cars, the Palestinians got tired of envying their occupiers, they were initially not intended for war if there were no tunnels they would have starved to death, we know according to Israel water food and medicine is a weapon
Oy Vey
By your logic, a military outpost created by the IDF in a kibbutz would make the women and children of the kibbutz as human shields of the IDF.
If Hamaz is listening you have just provided the perfect reason for their barbarism.
Your logic is flawed. The IDF do not hide their “military outposts” underneath the kibbutzim . They are there to protect the citizens from the murderous barbarians who have sworn to kill them. The tunnels under the hospitals, schools and mosques are not there to protect the citizens living above them. They are located there with the express purpose of making it more difficult for the IDF to attack them. And they do this with the consent and approval of the Palestinian population.
So, accordingly a barbaric act by Hamaz is wrong but a barbaric, genocidal act by the IDF is fine.
Your assumption is that every building in Gaza is part of the tunnel network, that every hospital is used to launch rockets and that every mosque has Hamas firing at soldiers. That seems to be the IDF assumption as well as they level entire city blocks.
South African should be the last people in the world confused by the Israel/Palestine situation, the situation is exactly the same as us prior 1994 the only difference is Israel is going to the extreme against Palestinians they oppress and militants go to the extreme on Israel civillians who allow the government to use them in practically chasing Palestinians and the security forces protect them, this makes them a legitimate target to the militants, by the civilians themselves removing people from their homes and settling in they become the perpetrators, I understand why people are outraged for october7 because the see the entire Israel civillians as angels, if I invade your farm you will see me as the attacker and the government by failing to take action will be willing partner in crime
Further clarity on my last post, when we say innocent Israel civillians we talk about children and those who were taken as hostages but were not involved in the settlements, the settler are the ones kicking Palestinians out of their homes,killing them in the process and they are legitimate targets of the militants, first in line than even the security forces who are mandated by the government to assist the main perpetrators
Based on the many responses to the Israeli regime occupation of Palestinian territories, it is quite evident that the ‘occupation of minds’ (in parts of the globe – especially US and UK … and some of its colonies) by Israeli regime propaganda for over 70 years … has worked ! It does explain why ‘foreign’ journalists are not allowed into Palestinian territories by occupier Israel… and local journalists (easily identifiable) are being mercilessly and intentionally slaughtered (over 100 since the start of the ‘war’ alone by yesterday! The reason … they are ‘recording’ the genocide being perpetrated by the IDF … which could be used in ‘war crimes’ investigations. This is the ‘evidence’ the various defenders of the Israeli regime do not want to ‘see’ … and that includes the “greatest” sic ‘terrorist’ state in the world called the US, which is underwriting and sponsoring the Israeli atrocities. How else could one explain that they would get the offspring of previous slaves (apparent Democrats!) to ‘defend’ their indefensible and disgraceful position at the UN. The ‘fly in the ointment’ is apparently ‘Hamas’ (remember when the ANC was in the same dock?) ! They… the US and its fellow travelers in the ‘west’ have no idea what or who ‘Hamas’ is! Even a not too bright Macron ‘got it’ on that score! But the US & it poodle the UK still haven’t a clue … and are floundering around…hoping the wholesale destruction of property and people across Palestine will do !
The cynical ‘passing’ of an even more cynical resolution at the UN security council two days ago, after a preposterous ‘delaying’ of it for several days by a corrupt US … is an example of worst possible ‘posturing’ on an issue, in which only the US and its proxy Israel are totally isolated. Like our SA apartheid state was ! These two pariahs of ‘democracy’ should be treated with the contempt they rightly deserve … and for turning the UN into a circus with their antics. The insulting of the unfrazzled secretary general by the Israeli ‘ambassador’ (with no consequence!) was breathtaking. The defiance of world opinion is staggeringly arrogant … but not surprising. After all .. they are both nuclear armed and quite ready to use it. A member of the Israeli cabinet was ‘reprimanded’ for saying it out loud ! That anyone would/could take steps against the biggest supplier of weapons of war and mass destruction to the world, is unlikely. BUT … world ‘opinion’ on a ‘narrative’ previously exclusively controlled by Israeli regime propaganda is at last being unpacked … despite the current desperate antics of Regev (trotted out daily on media like the ?BC and likey ?NN) and his ilk. What we do need to recognise is that the US will throw anyone/anything (including Ukraine) under the bus, in its single minded pursuit of defending a zionist state, which is more cancerous that the military wing of Hamas. Ask Rabin what happens if you are not a committed zionist !
All thanks to Hamas