“Easy said – we do not have the necessary conditions in the Gaza Strip for a robust humanitarian response,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement issued after an attack on one of the agency’s vehicles and the final Israeli evacuation order in Khan Younis.
Children are left with ‘permanent scars’
Ms Russell began by highlighting the dire conditions in Gaza, where “With each passing week, families are confronted with new horrors”.
She said devastating attacks on schools and displaced people’s homes continue, reportedly killing hundreds more Palestinians and adding to the pressure on already overstretched hospitals in the enclave.
“We see children who have endured previous injuries, now injured again. Doctors and nurses without resources, struggling to save lives. Thousands of boys and girls who are sick, hungry, injured or separated from their families,” she said.
“The violence and deprivation have left lasting scars on their vulnerable bodies and minds. And now, with sanitation and sewage treatment collapsing, poliovirus has joined the list of threats, especially for the thousands of unvaccinated children.”
Humanitarian situation ‘more than catastrophic’
Meanwhile, “as families are repeatedly forced to relocate to escape direct violence, the humanitarian situation is nothing short of catastrophic,” she said.
While UNICEF and other humanitarian organizations are doing everything they can to respond, “the dire situation and attacks on humanitarian personnel continue to hamper our efforts.”
On Tuesday, a clearly marked UNICEF vehicle was hit by bullets as they waited at a designated holding point at the Wadi Gaza checkpoint. It was one of two vehicles that would pick up five young children and reunite them with their father after their mother was killed.
“Fortunately, no one was injured and the team managed to reunite the family,” she said. “But in this incident, as in others before it, the humanitarian consequences could have been dire.”
Safe, unhindered access to help
She argued that conditions in Gaza do not warrant a robust humanitarian response, saying “the flow of aid must be unimpeded and access must be regular and safe.”
She said aid has been trickling in for almost nine months, leaving civilians without supplies and the commercial sector decimated.
The result is growing competition for what little is available, smuggling of goods into Gaza and the increasingly organised looting of aid that “not only hampers our efforts to reach vulnerable families, but also puts our teams and the civilians we support at risk.”
At least 278 aid workers killed
The situation is exacerbated by working conditions on the ground, she continued, noting that at least 278 aid workers have been killed so far – a record number – while others are in danger or prevented from doing their jobs.
“We need an immediate improved security situation, including security for trucks carrying relief supplies“To enable emergency responders to safely reach the communities they want to serve,” Ms Russell said.
“The most important thing is that we need an immediate and sustainable ceasefire.”
The UNICEF director called on all parties to the conflict to fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
“It is it’s long time for this crisis to be overthat hostages are returned to their families and that the children of Gaza have a healthy and safe future,” she said.
15 seriously ill children receive emergency care in Spain
Fifteen children from Gaza with complicated medical conditions arrived in Spain on Wednesday through an evacuation process involving the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners.
The mother of one of the children is also receiving treatment.
The patients have been hospitalized in Egypt for the past few months after being evacuated from Gaza. They represent just a small fraction of the thousands who need access to specialized medical care outside the enclave.
Care and cooperation
“These very sick children are receiving the care they need thanks to the collaboration between different partners and countries,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO.
While expressing his gratitude to Egypt and Spain for their support and mediation, he urged other countries “that have the capacity and medical facilities to receive people who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in the grip of this war.”
The children are aged between three and seventeen. Thirteen have complex injuries, one has a chronic heart condition and one is living with cancer. They are accompanied by 25 family members and other caregivers.
The youth have been in Egypt since before May 6, when evacuations became virtually impossible with the closure of the Rafah border crossing. Since then, only 23 people have been evacuated via the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Thousands are still waiting
WHO noted that since October last year, about 5,000 people have been evacuated for treatment outside Gaza. The majority, more than 80 percent, are receiving care in Egypt, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Another 10,000 Gazans have had to be evacuated.
Given the situation, children are “just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
“Patients who need to be evacuated outside the Gaza Strip must have the opportunity to leave, preferably to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, but also to Egypt or Jordan and beyond,” she added.
Wednesday’s evacuation was supported by the European Union (EU) Civil Protection Mechanism in cooperation with the WHO.
The Palestine Children’s Relief Fund has provided documentation for the patients, the Egyptian government has supported their care there and Spain is providing similar support, where the children are being treated in various hospitals in the country.
