UN Children's Rights Committee Kutuk Blockade Assistance By Israel In Gaza Strip

JAKARTA - The United Nations Children's Rights Committee strongly condemns Israel's continued humanitarian aid barrier to the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

In a statement issued on Wednesday the committee expressed deep concern over reports indicating that more than 14,000 babies could die in a matter of hours if life-saving supplies were not allowed into the trapped Line.

The committee urged the international community to immediately put pressure on Israeli occupation authorities to ensure the delivery of sustainable and unrestricted medical foods and medical assistance, quoted from WAFA May 16.

Citing data from UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), the Committee said more than 11 weeks of blocked humanitarian access had exacerbated the food security crisis in Gaza.

More than 50 children have died from starvation, with many at high risk.

The committee warned that if the blockade continued, the number of children killed was inevitable, and up to 71,000 children under the age of five could suffer from acute malnutrition next year.

It is also added that the right to food is a fundamental human right, which is entitled to the right to life, and therefore cannot be reduced under international law.

The committee also condemned Israel's ongoing aggression against the Gaza Strip, adding the attack killed and injured women and children, including the killing of at least 116 children last week.

The committee stated that there is no justification for actions that blatantly violate international humanitarian law, as well as international human rights law, including the Convention on Child Rights and Conventions on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide Crimes.

The committee reiterated the importance of opinion advisory issued by the International Court on July 19 last year, along with its orders issued on January 26 and May 24 of the previous year, in the South African case against Israel, regarding the application of Conventions on the Prevention and Sentencing of Genocide Crimes in the Gaza Strip.

The latest conflict in the Gaza Strip broke out on October 7, 2023, when Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas attacked Israel's southern region, killing 1,200 people and holding 251 others hostage, according to Israeli calculations.

It was responded to by airstrikes, blockades, and military operations by Israel in the Gaza Strip.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas followed by the release of the hostages was agreed upon by both sides and valid since January 19. It ended in March with Israel continuing its attacks on March 18.

Separately, medical sources in Gaza confirmed that the death toll of Palestinians in the region since the latest conflict broke out on October 7, 2023 has reached 53,655 people, while the injured reached 121,950 people, the majority being women and children.

According to the same source, the death toll since Israel restarted genocide on March 18 after a two-month ceasefire had also risen to 3,509, while injuries reached 9,909.