The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that the children of the Gaza Strip are dying at an "unprecedented” rate amid famine and the deterioration of the situation as a result of the ongoing Israeli war on the Strip since October 7, 2023.
Ted Shipan, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, said: "You see the pictures in the news, you know what happened, but it’s much harder when you’re there, the signs of deep suffering and hunger are visible on the faces of families and children.”
He stressed that what is happening on the ground in Gaza is "inhumane", stressing that what children of all groups need is a sustainable ceasefire and a political path that enables the way forward.
"Today, more than 320 thousand small children are at risk of acute malnutrition," the UN official said, adding that more than 18 thousand children have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war.
One in three people in Gaza are now running days without food, and the malnutrition index has crossed the hunger threshold, with the global acute malnutrition rate now exceeding 16.5 percent.
The Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF called again for the need to bring at least about 500 trucks a day to the Strip through all roads, including humanitarian and commercial assistance.
The Israeli entity has been waging a comprehensive aggression on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, causing the death of 60 thousand and 332 martyrs, and 147 thousand and 643 wounded, amid the closure of all crossings leading to the Gaza Strip, and the cessation of the entry of humanitarian aid through international organizations, and the complete interruption of electricity supply, which led to the deterioration of the situation in an unprecedented manner, to the brink of famine