4,000 Gaza babies at risk of death

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced in its new report on the situation of Palestinian children that Palestinian children are facing very worrying conditions, living in extreme fear and anxiety, and suffering from the consequences of being deprived of humanitarian aid.

After a four-day field visit to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Edward Beigbeder, UNICEF's regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said in a statement released last night: "The situation in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as Jerusalem, is very worrying, and almost all Palestinian children, that is, two million and four hundred thousand children, are in a very bad situation. These children live in extreme fear and anxiety, and some of them are struggling with the real consequences of being deprived of humanitarian aid, displaced, having their homes destroyed or even killed, and they must be protected. "

Referring to the restrictions imposed by the Israeli regime on the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, the UNICEF official warned that due to the lack of humanitarian aid into Gaza, about one million Palestinian children are living under severe siege and lack the basic facilities to survive. Unfortunately, at present, approximately 4,000 newborns cannot receive the necessary care to save their lives due to the lack of medical equipment in the Gaza Strip.

He continued: "Every day that passes without ventilators in Gaza, many lives are lost, and Israel is preventing the entry of this equipment for Palestinian children in Gaza, especially newborns. Unfortunately, at present, 4,000 newborns do not have the basic facilities to survive, and we call for the entry of health aid into Gaza to save the lives of children, and there is no justification for preventing the entry of this aid. "

Regarding the situation of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem, the UNICEF Regional Director also said that more than 200 Palestinian children have lost their lives in the West Bank since October 2023, which is the highest number of deaths of children in the West Bank during this period in the past two decades. Children should not be killed, injured or displaced, and all parties must respect their obligations to children's rights under international law.

Beigbider emphasized: "I met with a large number of displaced mothers and children in shelters in Jenin in the northern West Bank, and they told me how dire their situation is. They said they did not want charity, but only wanted their rights to be respected and to be able to return to their homes. "