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The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced that the Gaza Strip has become the most dangerous place in the world for children, in light of the continued Israeli aggression, which has so far led to the death of more than 16,<> Palestinians, most of them women and children.

Adele Khader, director of the organization's Middle East and North Africa branch, said that "the Gaza Strip has become the most dangerous place in the world for children after about one million children were forcibly displaced from their homes."

"Dozens of children are reportedly killed and injured every day. "Entire neighbourhoods, where children used to play and go to school, have been reduced to piles of rubble, lifeless."

In a statement, Khader said UNICEF and other humanitarian actors had been sounding the alarm for weeks.

She explained that the MSF team on the ground interviewed children who had lost limbs, suffered third-degree burns, and children who had been traumatized by the ongoing violence surrounding them.

Nearly one million children have been forcibly displaced from their homes. They are now being pushed further south into small, overcrowded areas without water, food or protection, putting them at increased risk of respiratory infections and waterborne diseases. Their lives are further threatened by drought, malnutrition and disease.

Another death sentence

The restrictions and challenges to the delivery of life-saving aid to the Gaza Strip are yet another death sentence for children.

The quantities being brought in are far from sufficient compared to the level of need, as the distribution of aid has become a greater challenge than ever due to shelling and fuel shortages.

She stressed that an immediate and lasting humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to end the killing and wounding of children, the only way to protect civilians, and to enable the delivery of urgently needed life-saving assistance.

She called for widespread humanitarian access to prevent further suffering.

"UNICEF and humanitarian organizations must have safe access to all children and their families wherever they are in the Gaza Strip, including in the north," she said.

She lamented that "the world is watching helplessly, and we cannot act fast enough."

Source : Anadolu Agency