UNICEF: One million Palestinian children deprived of necessities

By Christopher Wells

“Without aid entering the Gaza Strip,” says Edouard Beigbeder of UNICEF, “roughly one million children are living without the very basics they need to survive – yet again.”

In a statement issued on Sunday, the UN children agency’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director noted that almost all of the 2.4 million children in Palestine – including the West bank and the Gaza Strip – are affected by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas. “All children must be protected,” Beigbeder insists.

He lamented the refusal to allow delivery of more than 180,000 doses of vaccines and 20 ventilators for neonatal intensive care units to be delivered to the Gaza Strip. “Tragically, approximately 4,000 newborns are currently unable to access essential lifesaving care due to the major impact on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip.

Beigbeder noted, too, the requirement for civilians’ essential needs to be met, including “facilitating the entry of life-saving assistance whether or not there is a ceasefire in place.” UNICEF, he said, is advocating for children’s health supplies to be allowed into Gaza, adding, “There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be.”

Beigbeder went on to recall the large number of children killed in the West Bank, including West Jerusalem since the beginning of fighting in October 2023, as well as the more than 35,000 children forced to leave their homes in Jenin and the north of the West Bank.

While UNICEF is working to protect and support children in Palestine, Beigbeder said this is not enough: “Children must not be killed, injured or displaced and all parties must respect their obligations under international law,” he said. “Civilians’ essential and protection needs must be met, and humanitarian assistance must be allowed to flow at speed and scale. All hostages must be swiftly released, and the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip must continue and support lasting solutions to the conflict.”