New York-Saba:
UNRWA Emergency Officer Louise Waterridge said on Friday that more than two million people are still trapped in horrific conditions in Gaza and are deprived of their basic needs.
Waterridge pointed out that "the population cannot flee, and it seems as if every road you can take leads to death."
For its part, UNICEF said that "the war on children in Gaza" is a stark reminder of the world's collective responsibility to do everything possible to end their suffering, stressing that "a generation of children are bearing the brunt of the brutal violation of their rights and the destruction of their future."
“Gaza is one of the saddest places for us as humanitarians, because every little effort to save a child’s life is lost to the brutal destruction,” said UNICEF’s chief communications officer in Gaza, Rosalia Poulin. “For more than 14 months, children have been on the edge of this nightmare, with more than 14,500 children reported killed and thousands more injured.”
UNICEF warned of the dire situation as winter sets in in Gaza, with children “cold, wet and barefoot,” many still wearing summer clothes. Children are searching through the rubble for plastic to burn, and diseases are rampant in the Strip, with health services lacking and hospitals constantly under attack.
UNRWA said that weather conditions have worsened in recent days and that this pattern is expected to continue, but the agency has had to prioritize food over shelter assistance.
"We have supplies outside the Gaza Strip waiting to enter the Strip for six months. This is the reality that humanitarian workers live here. We have to choose between people getting food or people getting shelter," UNRWA added.
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