The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced that approximately 3,000 children in the Gaza Strip suffering from malnutrition are at risk of death due to lack of access to necessary treatment resulting from the Israeli attack on the city of Rafah in the southern region. UNICEF stated in a press release that there has been a "slight improvement" in food assistance reaching northern Gaza, while the flow of humanitarian aid to the south has drastically declined, putting more children at risk of malnutrition.
The organization explained that "horrific violence and displacement are affecting desperate families' access to healthcare facilities and services." Adel Khadr, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, noted that "disturbing images from Gaza show children dying before their families’ eyes due to the continued shortage of food, nutrition supplies, and the destruction of healthcare services."
Khadr emphasized that "unless treatment for the 3,000 children is quickly resumed, they face an immediate and serious risk of severe disease, life-threatening complications, and joining the growing list of boys and girls killed due to senseless human-made deprivation."
She stated that "the organization's warnings about rising child mortality due to a preventable mix of malnutrition, dehydration, and disease should have prompted urgent action to save children's lives; however, this devastation continues."
Khadr added, "With hospitals destroyed, treatments halted, and supplies dwindling, we are bracing for more suffering and deaths among children," noting that "UNICEF has pre-prepared food supplies ready to enter the Gaza Strip if permitted."
She stressed the "need for better operational conditions on the ground to increase safety and reduce restrictions, but what children desperately need, ultimately, is a ceasefire."
Sleem Oweiss, UNICEF’s regional spokesperson for the Middle East and North Africa, described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "catastrophic," warning that conditions could reach unprecedented levels. Oweiss revealed in statements to "Al-Ittihad" that the ongoing displacement to unsuitable locations for children and families, particularly in overcrowded areas suffering from a lack of basic services, poses a severe risk to the young, with hundreds of thousands affected by illness, malnutrition, trauma, or disabilities.
He called for an immediate and sustained humanitarian ceasefire, protection for civilians and infrastructure supporting their basic needs, such as hospitals and shelters, from military attacks, and safeguarding children and their families.
Oweiss emphasized the necessity of ensuring safe and continued access for humanitarian organizations and workers to children and families to provide life-saving assistance wherever they are in the Gaza Strip, pointing out that the closure of crossings has catastrophic humanitarian implications, being the most vital outlet for the exit of patients and the entry of aid.