More than 13,800 children killed in Gaza since Israel attack

“Thousands of people are injured and thousands more are on the brink of starvation,” she said at a press conference in New York.

UNICEF says more than 13,800 children have been killed in Gaza since Israel attacked picture 1 — People bury children killed in an Israeli attack in Rafah on February 9. Photo: AFP

In a separate statement, the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women said that “every 10 minutes a child is injured or killed” in Gaza. And more than 10,000 women have been killed in Gaza since the war began, 6,000 of whom have left behind 19,000 orphans.

UNICEF communications specialist Tess Ingram, who recently visited Gaza, said in Geneva on Tuesday that what struck her was the number of injured children she saw.

“Not just in hospitals, but on the streets, in their makeshift shelters, they are experiencing lives that have now changed forever,” she said.

Meanwhile, the head of the main UN relief agency in Gaza (UNRWA) said there was an “insidious campaign” underway to end its operations, warning of “serious implications for international peace and security”.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told the UN Security Council on Wednesday that the agency was “denied authorization to deliver aid and save lives”.

UNRWA has been under fire since Israel accused some of its staff of being involved in the October 7 Hamas attack. Israel has long campaigned to disband UNRWA, the main aid distributor in Gaza. Israel has also banned UNRWA from operating in northern Gaza.

More than a dozen countries withdrew funding to UNRWA following the allegations, but some of them are still or have resumed donating.

“The dissolution of UNRWA will have long-term consequences. In the short term, it will deepen the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and accelerate the emergence of famine,” said Mr. Lazzarini.

Lazzarini said children were “bearing the brunt of this war”, with more than 17,000 having lost their families and “facing the horrors of Gaza alone”. He also warned that “man-made famine is worsening” across Gaza.

Bui Huy (according to UN, CNN)

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