{"id":5486,"date":"2025-07-17T07:56:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T07:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=5486"},"modified":"2025-07-17T07:56:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T07:56:22","slug":"unicef-chief-delivers-harrowing-brief-to-un-security-council-gazas-children-betrayed-by-the-world-amid-war-hunger-and-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theeaglenews.co.in\/?p=5486","title":{"rendered":"UNICEF Chief Delivers Harrowing Brief to UN Security Council: Gaza’s Children \u201cBetrayed by the World\u201d Amid War, Hunger, and Disease.\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

UNICEF Chief Delivers Harrowing Brief to UN Security Council: Gaza’s Children \u201cBetrayed by the World\u201d Amid War, Hunger, and Disease.\u00a0<\/strong><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

NEW YORK:<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In a powerful and emotionally charged address to the United Nations Security Council, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell<\/strong> laid bare the catastrophic toll that 21 months of war have taken on the children of Gaza, calling the humanitarian crisis a \u201cbetrayal of their right to be children<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Council\u2019s special session on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Russell described the scale of suffering as \u201ccatastrophic,\u201d<\/strong> revealing that over 17,000 children have been killed and 33,000 injured<\/strong> since the onset of the conflict \u2014 an average of 28 children killed each day<\/strong>, comparable to an entire classroom lost daily<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThese children are not combatants,\u201d she said. \u201cThey are being killed and maimed as they line up for lifesaving food and medicine.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n

Children Targeted, Starving, and Traumatised<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Russell\u2019s testimony offered sobering details of attacks that killed children at food distribution sites, in hospitals, and while collecting drinking water. Just last week, she recounted, 15 Palestinians \u2013 including nine children \u2013 were killed while waiting in line for UNICEF nutritional supplies<\/strong> in Deir al Balah. Among them was Mohammed<\/strong>, a one-year-old who had spoken his first words hours before dying in the blast. His mother, Donia<\/strong>, was critically injured and later found clutching her baby\u2019s tiny shoe in a hospital bed.<\/p>\n

More recently, seven children were killed while collecting water<\/strong>, and just hours before the UN session<\/strong>, at least 20 more people \u2013 some children \u2013 died during a desperate scramble at an aid distribution site<\/strong> in southern Gaza.<\/p>\n

From May 27 to July 7<\/strong>, the UN Human Rights Office documented the deaths of 798 Palestinian civilians<\/strong> near humanitarian sites \u2013 many children, simply trying to survive.<\/p>\n

\n

Worsening Conditions in the West Bank<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The UNICEF chief also raised alarm over escalating violence in the West Bank<\/strong>, where 33 Palestinian children have been killed<\/strong> this year during military operations or settler violence. More than 120 children are currently detained without trial<\/strong>, and over 32,000 people have been forcibly displaced<\/strong> as demolitions and militarized raids continue.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cChildren do not start conflicts and cannot stop them,\u201d Russell emphasized. \u201cBut they are suffering tremendously, and they wonder why the world has failed them. And make no mistake, we have<\/strong> failed them.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n

Health System Collapsing, Malnutrition Soars<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The address also painted a bleak picture of public health and nutrition in Gaza<\/strong>, where basic services have collapsed:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 95% of households<\/strong> lack access to clean water;<\/li>\n
  • 44% of all healthcare consultations<\/strong> now involve waterborne diseases;<\/li>\n
  • 6,000 children were found to be acutely malnourished in June<\/strong> \u2013 a 180% increase<\/strong> from February;<\/li>\n
  • Hospitals are overwhelmed, with emergency departments over capacity and critical surgeries halted due to fuel shortages<\/strong>;<\/li>\n
  • 12,500 patients<\/strong>, including thousands of children<\/strong>, urgently need medical evacuation from Gaza, yet only a handful have been accepted by other countries.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    UNICEF commended those nations accepting patients but stressed the need for a significant increase in medical evacuations<\/strong>, including guarantees that children and their caregivers can safely return home<\/strong> after treatment.<\/p>\n

    \n

    Humanitarian Access Blocked, Fuel Shortages Deadly<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Russell condemned the ongoing blockade of humanitarian aid<\/strong>, stating that only 30 UN aid trucks per day<\/strong> have been allowed to enter Gaza since mid-May \u2014 \u201ca fraction\u201d<\/strong> of what is needed to sustain 2 million people.<\/p>\n

    \n

    \u201cFuel must be consistently allowed into Gaza, in sufficient quantities to sustain life-saving operations,\u201d she urged. \u201cA crippling fuel shortage is now forcing essential services to shut down, putting the lives of over a million children at risk.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    She called for the urgent restoration of a UN-led humanitarian pipeline<\/strong>, with safe, sustained, and demilitarized aid delivery<\/strong> through all available crossings.<\/p>\n

    \n

    UNICEF\u2019s Demands to the Security Council<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    In her closing remarks, Russell laid out clear and urgent demands<\/strong> to the Council and the international community:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Immediate and safe humanitarian access<\/strong> for UN agencies and partners;<\/li>\n
    2. Fuel deliveries<\/strong> to restart and be scaled up urgently;<\/li>\n
    3. Unhindered medical evacuations<\/strong>, with return guarantees for patients;<\/li>\n
    4. Ceasefire<\/strong> agreed by all parties;<\/li>\n
    5. Full adherence to international humanitarian law<\/strong> by all parties, including the protection of children, hospitals, and aid operations;<\/li>\n
    6. Accountability<\/strong> through independent investigations into attacks on civilians;<\/li>\n
    7. Immediate and unconditional release of all hostages<\/strong> held in Gaza.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Russell also called on Israel to review its rules of engagement<\/strong>, ensure protection of civilians, and comply with international legal obligations. Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups were urged to respect civilian facilities<\/strong> and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access.<\/p>\n

      \n

      \u201cThe effects of the violence perpetrated on children have been catastrophic,\u201d she said. \u201cInternational law is clear: All parties must protect civilians and ensure access to aid.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n
      \n

      \u201cHistory Will Judge Us \u2013 And So Will the Children\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\n

      In one of the speech\u2019s most poignant moments, Russell reminded the Council and the world that Gaza\u2019s children will remember<\/strong> what was done \u2014 and what was not.<\/p>\n

      \n

      \u201cSeen through their eyes, our failure is a betrayal of their right to be children,\u201d she said. \u201cHistory will judge this failure harshly. And the children will judge it too.\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      She ended with a plea:<\/p>\n

      \n

      \u201cChildren in Gaza, like children everywhere, deserve peace. Our job is to give them the future they deserve. We simply must do better.<\/strong>\u201d<\/h4>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      UNICEF Chief Delivers Harrowing Brief to UN Security Council: Gaza’s Children \u201cBetrayed by the World\u201d Amid War, Hunger, and Disease.\u00a0   NEW YORK:   In […]<\/p>\n

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