UNICEF Warns Of Collapse Of Health Care System Threatening Gaza Children's Lives

JAKARTA - The collapse of the health care system poses a serious threat to the lives of children in the Gaza Strip, said Kazim Abu Khalaf, a UNICEF spokesman in Palestine.

At Wednesday's press conference Abu Khalaf said children face major challenges as the war is ongoing, stressing there is no other place in the world that records such a high number of child casualties every day, according to the organization's official website.

He noted, since October 7, 2023, an average of 27 children have died every day. If an injury is included, the daily death toll will increase to 83 children within 20 months, quoted from WAFA June 4.

Abu Khalaf explained that children were among the most affected by the hunger that hit the Gaza Strip, with tens of thousands of children recordedly requiring treatment due to severe acute malnutrition.

Initial statistics, he added, showed more than 40,000 children had become orphans, and that number was expected to continue to grow.

He stressed that children in Gaza will take years to recover, not only from physical injuries but also from the deep psychological and emotional trauma they have suffered.

Separately, health sources in Gaza on Wednesday confirmed that the death toll of Palestinians in Gaza since the latest conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, has reached 54,607 people, the majority of children and women, while injured victims reached 125,341 people.