UNICEF: Child casualties in Gaza “a growing stain on our collective conscience”

 The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said that 2,360 children have been killed since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip as a result of the continuous Israeli bombing, and that the rate of deaths and injuries among children in the Strip is estimated at more than 400 children every day, between wounded and killed.

The UN organization explained that reports indicate that 5,364 children have been injured in Gaza since the beginning of the Israeli war on the Strip, which it described as the most violent escalation since 2006.

UNICEF said in a statement issued yesterday, Tuesday, that the number of dead and wounded children in Gaza constitutes a growing stain on the collective conscience, and called for an immediate ceasefire and allowing humanitarian aid to enter the Strip without obstacles.

She also indicated that almost all of the children in the Gaza Strip, who constitute 50% of the Gaza Strip’s population, were exposed to horrific events and extremely painful shocks, as a result of the widespread destruction in Gaza, the continuous bombing and displacement, and the severe shortage of basic necessities. Such as: food, water, and medicine as a result of the stifling siege imposed on the Gaza Strip.

“The killing and maiming of children, their abduction, attacks on hospitals and schools, and the denial of humanitarian access constitute grave violations of children’s rights,” said Adele Khader, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.