صراط عشق صراط عشق
Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Catherine Russell, warned on Friday that Gaza is once again “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child” following the resumption of the war.
Russell said that hundreds of children will die each day if violence returns at the scale and intensity seen before the seven-day pause in fighting that ended on Friday, Al-Jazeera reported.
“It does not have to be this way – for seven days, there was a glimmer of hope for children amidst this horrific nightmare,” Russell said in a statement.
“More than 30 children held hostage in Gaza were safely released and reunited with their families. And the humanitarian pause enabled an increase in the delivery of lifesaving supplies into and across Gaza,” she said.
“Children need a lasting humanitarian ceasefire,” Russell added.
“We call on all parties to ensure that children are protected and assisted, in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law. All children in the State of Palestine and Israel deserve peace and hope for a better future,” Russell added.
Israel early Friday resumed its military operations against the Gaza Strip after the end of the humanitarian pause, targeting various areas in the North, Center, and South of the strip, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries, according to the ministry in Gaza. The pause between Israel and Hamas, which went into effect on November 24, ended on Friday morning.
6,150 Palestinian children have reportedly been killed since Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7.
Over 180 Palestinians have died, and many have been injured, since Israel resumed its attacks earlier Friday.
Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip for most of the time since October 7, letting in only a trickle of food, medicine, and other much-needed aid, has almost certainly pushed up the death toll of children and adults alike
