The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that more than 5,300 Palestinian minors have died in the Gaza Strip since last October 7, when the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas intensified, it called for a “stop.” to the longest lasting fire” and urged “all parties” to ensure that “children are protected.”
“Before the (humanitarian) pause, more than 5,300 Palestinian children were reported dead in 48 days of incessant shelling, a figure that does not include many children who are still missing and presumed buried under the rubble,” said the director of Unicef, Catherine Russell, in a statement released in recent hours on the organization’s website.
In this context, he warned that if the conflict “returns to its previous scale and intensity, it can be assumed that hundreds more children will be killed and injured every day.”
“For seven days, there was a ray of hope for children in the midst of this horrible nightmare. More than 30 children held hostage in Gaza were freed, safe and reunited with their families,” added Russell, regarding the pause humanitarian
The truce between Israel and Hamas was extended from November 24 to December 1 and marked a pause in the fighting that began on October 7 after the surprise attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on Israeli territory.
“The humanitarian pause allowed an increase in the delivery of vital supplies to and through Gaza. UNICEF and our partners were able to significantly expand their operations and programs. And we were able to begin connecting separated children with their families,” Russell assessed.
“This was not enough to meet the magnitude of humanitarian needs, but it was a start. We now need greater safe and predictable access to reach children who have been injured, displaced and traumatized. And we need to get supplies to children who are vulnerable to the cold, wet weather that has arrived,” she explained.
Russell stressed that “children need a lasting humanitarian ceasefire” and urged “all parties” to ensure that “children are protected and assisted.”
This escalation of hostilities began on October 7, when Hamas militiamen burst into Israel, in a surprise attack that left more than 1,200 dead, mostly civilians, and 240 kidnapped, including twenty Argentines.
In response, Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas and unleashed a campaign of air and ground attacks on Gaza that the enclave’s government said left more than 15,000 people dead, most of them civilians.
The one-week temporary cessation of hostilities allowed hostages to be exchanged for Palestinian prisoners: 110 hostages were released since the beginning of the conflict, 105 of them during the truce, mostly Israeli women and minors, and a dozen of them Argentineans, and in exchange Israel He released 240 people.
Source: Ambito
