UNICEF: 100 children have been killed since the ceasefire in Gaza, and life is still stifling

At the bi-weekly press conference of UN agencies in Geneva, Elder added: “These children are being killed by airstrikes and drone attacks, including suicide drones. They are being killed by tank shells. They are being killed by live ammunition. They are being killed by remote-controlled quadcopters.”.

He reported that more children died due to hypothermia in the past few days, saying: “The number of children who have died of hypothermia this winter has reached six. I wish I could hold a camera and show you the 30 or 40 kilometers per hour wind tearing apart the tents on the beach. It is very cold and wet.”.

He warned that “Life in Gaza is still stifling. Survival is still conditional.”. He explained that “What the world now calls calm is a crisis elsewhere.”.

Children denied medical evacuation

The UNICEF spokesman indicated that the ceasefire allowed real progress in the field of primary health care, as UNICEF and its partners established the first health clinics in the northern Gaza Strip and expanded immunization services.

But he warned that much-needed medical evacuations of children remain stalled, noting that there has been no significant improvement in terms of approvals to remove children with life-threatening injuries from Gaza.

He said that during his recent mission to the Strip, he spoke to several children and families who were denied evacuation despite completing an arduous official process, including a nine-year-old boy with shrapnel wounds in his eye and“He will lose sight in one eye, and perhaps in both.”And a girl in Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City “You may die”.

Transforming low levels of violence into real safety

The UN official spoke about the recent Israeli ban on international non-governmental organizations, which will come into effect next month and will mean “Obstructing life-saving aid”.

Elder also stressed the importance of allowing international media to enter the Strip, which was not granted despite the ceasefire. And he said: “More pressure must be exerted to allow international journalists entry.”.

Elder added: “This is my seventh mission to Gaza, and every time I see the complete destruction surrounding the place on all sides, and the razing of homes to the ground, I am astonished.”noting that “The scene is as horrific today as it was the first time I saw it more than two years ago.”.

He warned that the psychological damage is still untreated, and is becoming deeper and more difficult with the passage of time, adding that: “A ceasefire that reduces the intensity of the bombing is progress, but it is not enough as long as children are buried under the rubble.”.

He went on to say: “This is the time to turn low violence into real safety.”.