New York/PNN - Tala Jado -
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has stated that around 3,000 children suffering from malnutrition are at risk of death due to being deprived of necessary treatment as a result of the Israeli attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza Strip.
UNICEF, in a statement today, Wednesday, pointed out "a slight improvement in delivering food assistance to the northern Gaza Strip, while the delivery of humanitarian aid to the south has significantly decreased, exposing more children to the risk of malnutrition."
The organization explained that "the horrific violence and displacement are affecting the ability of desperate families to access health care facilities and services."
Adel Khader, the UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said, "The horrifying images from Gaza show children dying in front of their families' eyes due to continued food shortages, malnutrition, and the destruction of health care services."
Khader stressed that "unless treatment is quickly resumed for 3,000 children, they are at immediate and serious risk of contracting serious diseases, suffering life-threatening complications, and joining the growing list of boys and girls who have been killed due to senseless and man-made deprivation."
He further stated that "the organization's warnings about the escalating child deaths due to preventable causes such as malnutrition, drought, and diseases should have led to immediate measures to save children's lives, yet this destruction continues."
He added, "With hospitals being destroyed, treatment being halted, and supplies being scarce, we are preparing for further suffering and deaths of children."
The Regional Director noted that "UNICEF has additional pre-positioned food supplies ready to enter the Gaza Strip if access is permitted."
He emphasized the "need for better operating conditions on the ground, where security is increased and restrictions are reduced, but ultimately, what children desperately need is a cessation of hostilities."
