The UN stated on Tuesday that it worried more children would die from thirst and that the Gaza Strip had turned into a cemetery for thousands of them.
Since Hamas gunmen broke across the border on October 7, Israel has reportedly pounded Gaza extensively, killing 1,400 people—mostly civilians—and capturing at least 240 more.
Over 8,500 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the strikes, according to the Gaza Strip’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas.
There was a chance that the amount of children killed as a direct result of bombardment might be surpassed, according to UNICEF, the UN agency for children.
“Our gravest fears about the reported numbers of children killed becoming dozens, then hundreds, and ultimately thousands were realised in just a fortnight,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder said in a statement.
“The numbers are appalling; reportedly more than 3,450 children killed; staggeringly this rises significantly every day.”
“Gaza has become a graveyard for thousands of children. It’s a living hell for everyone else.”
He said the more than one million children living in the Gaza Strip were also suffering from a lack of clean water.
“Gaza’s water production capacity is a mere five percent of its usual daily output. Child deaths — particularly infants — to dehydration are a growing threat,” he said.
UNICEF is calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, with all access crossings into Gaza opened for the safe, sustained and unimpeded access of humanitarian aid, including water, food, medical supplies, and fuel.
“And if there is no ceasefire, no water, no medicine, and no release of abducted children? Then we hurtle towards even greater horrors afflicting innocent children,” said Elder.
“There are certainly children who are dying who have been impacted by the bombardment but should have had their lives saved,” Elder told reporters in Geneva, via video link.
He declared that “the deaths from the attacks, they could absolutely be the tip of the iceberg” in the absence of increased humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip.
Elder stated that approximately 940 children were reported missing from Gaza Strip health institutes, which is governed by Hamas.
