The situation in the Gaza Strip is “devastating” for the children still trapped there. This is denounced by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which insists that “there is no safe place where the million children of Gaza can go”, within the framework of Israel’s military offensive.

“Today I was in the Gaza Strip to meet with children, their families and Unicef ​​staff. What I have seen and heard has been devastating. They have endured continuous bombings, losses and displacement,” lamented UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, who is visiting the Palestinian enclave.

He denounces that “the parties in conflict are committing serious violations against boys and girls” that include “murders, mutilations, kidnappings, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access.” “Unicef ​​condemns all of this,” he stressed.

Russell recalled that the Gaza authorities, controlled by Hamas, have denounced that more than 4,600 children have died and nearly 9,000 have been injured as a result of Israel’s attacks, while indicating that “many children are missing and are believed to be under the rubble of buildings and homes that have collapsed as a tragic result of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas”.

“Meanwhile, in a Gaza hospital they have died newborn babies who needed specialized care as electricity and medical supplies ran out and violence continued with indiscriminate effects,” he said, referring to the situation at Al Shifa Hospitalthe largest on the Strip.

Russell has also emphasized that “many people”, including UNICEF staff and their families, “now live in overcrowded shelters with very little water, food or decent sanitation”, conditions that “can lead to disease outbreaks”.