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The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has issued a stark warning about the escalating child death toll in Gaza, urging the global community to take urgent action to prevent a large-scale loss of young lives as the conflict continues to rage. According to Anadolu, the situation remains dire amid Israel’s ongoing military campaign.
UNICEF’s deputy executive director, Ted Chaiban, speaking on Friday following a recent visit to the Middle East, stated: “Today, I want to keep the focus on Gaza, because it’s in Gaza where the suffering is most acute and where children are dying at an unprecedented rate.” He emphasised that decisions made now will determine the survival of tens of thousands of children.
Chaiban’s trip included stops in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, including Gaza and the West Bank. It marked his fourth visit to Gaza since the outbreak of Israeli bombardment after October 7, 2023. Despite having seen disturbing images in the media, he said witnessing the devastation in person was deeply shocking. “The suffering and hunger are clearly etched into the faces of families and children,” he added.
He reported that more than 18,000 children have died in Gaza since the conflict began. The territory, he said, is now facing an imminent famine. Around one in three Gazans are going for days without food, and the malnutrition rate has now crossed the famine threshold, with global acute malnutrition exceeding 16.5 per cent. Over 320,000 young children are currently at risk of severe malnutrition.
Chaiban described the situation as “inhumane” and called for an immediate, lasting ceasefire and a political resolution to safeguard children’s futures.
Responding to questions about the effectiveness of increased airdropped aid into Gaza, Chaiban said: “Every possible method must be employed—every gate, every route—but airdrops cannot deliver the quantity of supplies that road convoys can.” He stressed the need to restore the flow of aid to approximately 500 trucks per day, including both humanitarian and commercial deliveries.
