According to Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, this ongoing conflict has a devastating impact on children as it robs them of their childhood and threatens their future. The Gaza health authority has reported alarming statistics, revealing that over 12,300 young lives have been lost in just four months. This number is shockingly higher than the global child mortality rate from 2019 to 2022, which stood at 12,193.

Ceasefire call

On Tuesday evening, X (formerly known as Twitter), the leader of UNRWA restated the repeated global appeals for an urgent ceasefire in the region. The Israeli military has launched heavy attacks in response to terrorist acts by Hamas in Israel on 7 October, resulting in the destruction of entire communities in the enclave.

According to reports from local health officials, the total number of Palestinian casualties stands at 31,184 deaths and 72,889 injuries. On 12 March, Israeli armed forces recorded 247 casualties, including 1,475 injured individuals, during their ground operation in Gaza.

in the conflict

Employees of UNRWA were harmed and wounded in the ongoing dispute.

The agency announced on Wednesday that a member of their team had died and 22 others were wounded after Israeli Forces struck a food distribution center in the southern part of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.

According to Mr. Lazzarini, the recent assault on a crucial UNRWA distribution facility in Gaza is happening at a time when food resources are depleting, starvation is prevalent, and there are even pockets of famine in certain regions.

The head of UNRWA stated that we provide the locations of our facilities in Gaza to all involved parties on a daily basis. The Israeli army was given the coordinates of this facility yesterday.

In the past five months, UNRWA has documented an unprecedented amount of misconduct directed at its employees and buildings due to the ongoing war. A minimum of 165 employees have lost their lives, some while actively working, and over 150 facilities, including numerous schools, have been impacted.

Children most vulnerable

Recent reports from the UN have emphasized the dangerous conditions in Gaza, where approximately 576,000 individuals – one quarter of the population – are at risk of famine. Tragically, 25 people in northern Gaza have already passed away due to acute malnutrition and dehydration, including 21 children. This highlights the urgency of addressing the crisis.

According to UNICEF, the younger population is particularly vulnerable to the effects of hunger and illness. The organization has issued a warning that one million children have been forced to leave their homes due to the war and that 17,000 of them are unaccompanied or separated, making up one percent of the 1.7 million displaced children in Gaza.

A possible solution for the northern area of Gaza:

There may be a resolution in sight for the northern region of Gaza.

Collaborative initiatives without UN involvement were implemented to ease the dire circumstances during continuous conflict and bombardment by Israel. This included a successful delivery of aid by the World Food Programme (WFP) to Gaza City on Tuesday, marking their first mission to the north since February 20th.

According to the most recent UN report on the crisis, the World Food Programme stated the urgency of delivering daily supplies to the northern region and establishing direct entry points in order to prevent famine amongst the residents of northern Gaza.

According to the UN aid office, OCHA, 19 partners of the UN collectively provided food assistance, such as food parcels and hot meals, to an estimated 200,000 individuals in Gaza last week. The majority of this aid was distributed in Rafah, with the remainder reaching Deir al Balah, Khan Younis, and surrounding areas.

Hospital aid

Additionally, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and its collaborators successfully accessed two additional hospitals in the northern region of Gaza on Monday – namely, Al Shifa and Al Helou – in addition to the hospitals reached over the weekend: Al-Ahil Arab Hospital and Al-Sahaba Hospital.

Food and 24,000 litres of fuel was delivered to Al Shifa, along with medical supplies for 42,000 patients, including medicines, anaesthetic drugs and surgical materials.

The Director-General of WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, posted on the social media platform X (previously known as Twitter) that Al Shifa requires specialized health workers urgently as it is currently operating at a minimal level.

Al Helou hospital continues to face critical needs, according to Tedros. Essential services are limited in all departments, and there are shortages of fuel, food, surgical equipment, and medical personnel.

This information is from the United Nations News website.