UNICEF Says Palestinian Children Still Lack Of Basic Supply And Services

Illustration of Palestinian child refugees in the Gaza Strip. (Twitter/@UNISPAL)

JAKARTA - The United Nations (UNICEF) Children's Funds say, "Too often, children in Palestine are victims of this relentless conflict. Almost all of the 2.4 million children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, are affected in some ways. Some children live with extraordinary fear or anxiety; others face evident consequences of the lack of humanitarian aid and protection, evacuation, destruction or death. All children must be protected."

This statement was issued by UNICEF's Director of Middle Eastern and North African Regions, Edouard Beigbeder, after completing a four-day mission to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

"Without assistance entering the Gaza Strip, about 1 million children live without the basic needs they need to survive, once again," he said, quoted by WAFA March 17.

"In the West Bank including East Jerusalem, more than 200 Palestinian children and 3 Israeli children have been killed since October 2023, the highest number recorded in the past two decades," explained Beigbeder.

"Children should not be killed, injured, or displaced and all parties must respect their obligations based on international law. The basic needs and protection of civilians must be met, and humanitarian aid must be allowed to flow quickly and on a large scale," he stressed.

"The tens of thousands of children have been killed and injured. We must not return to a situation that makes these numbers even higher," said Beigbeder.

Israel last week again restricted the entry of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip and cut off electricity supply to the Palestinian enclave.

Gaza health authorities confirmed that the number of Palestinian deaths in the region as of Sunday had reached 48,572 people, while injuries reached 112,032, mostly children and women, as quoted by WAFA.