The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that about 3,000 children suffering from malnutrition are “at risk of death in front of their families” due to being deprived of treatment as a result of the Israeli attack on Rafah, south of Gaza.
The organization noted in a statement, “A slight improvement in the delivery of food aid to the northern Gaza Strip, while humanitarian access to the south has decreased significantly, putting more children at risk of malnutrition.”
‘Horrific violence and displacement continue to impact desperate families’ access to healthcare facilities and services,’ the statement added.
In this context, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khader, said: ‘Horrific images continue to emerge from Gaza of children dying in front of their families due to continued shortages of food and nutrition supplies and the destruction of health care services.’
‘Unless treatment is quickly resumed for these 3,000 children, they are at immediate and grave ris
k of developing serious illnesses, developing life-threatening complications, and joining the growing list of boys and girls killed by this senseless, self-made deprivation,’ Khader added.
It stated, “The organization’s warnings of escalating child deaths due to a preventable combination of malnutrition, dehydration, and disease should have led to immediate action to save children’s lives. However, this devastation continues.”
It continued: “With hospitals destroyed, treatment halted, and supplies scarce, we are preparing for more children’s suffering and deaths.”
The Regional Director noted that UNICEF has “more food supplies already prepared to enter the Gaza Strip if access permits.”
It stressed “the need for better operating conditions on the ground through which safety is increased and restrictions are reduced,” but it emphasized that in the end what children need most “is a ceasefire.
Source: National Iraqi News Agency