The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, where children are facing unprecedented mortality rates due to the ongoing blockade and the war that has been raging since October 7, 2023. Ted Chaiban, UNICEF's Deputy Executive Director, explained during a media briefing following his recent visit to the region that children are suffering greatly, with hunger and illness visible on their faces, and that current options will determine the fate of tens of thousands of them between life and death.

Chaiban noted that more than 18,000 children have died since the beginning of the conflict, emphasizing that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has become catastrophic, with the increasing threat of famine endangering the lives of the population, as one-third of the population spends days without food, and the rate of acute malnutrition has exceeded 16.5 percent, a dangerous indicator reflecting the worsening food and health crisis in the sector.

The UN official added that more than 320,000 children are currently at risk of acute malnutrition, and that the situation on the ground is inhumane, requiring a permanent ceasefire and a political path that ensures the end of suffering. He stressed the need to allow at least 500 trucks daily into the sector through all routes to provide essential humanitarian and commercial aid to the population.

In a related context, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the number of victims of the Israeli starvation policy since the beginning of the war has risen to 162 deaths, including 92 children, after three deaths were recorded in the past twenty-four hours. These figures come amid the ongoing blockade and restrictions on the entry of aid, as Israel has started since May 27 a new mechanism for distributing food aid through four centers in the south and center of the sector, in cooperation with the United States.

Since the implementation of this mechanism, hospitals have received more than 1,330 Palestinian martyrs, in addition to more than 8,818 injured, due to repeated gunfire from the Israeli army on those waiting for aid, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Reports confirm that the occupation is committing genocide that includes killing, starvation, destruction, and displacement, ignoring international calls and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop the aggression.

The aggressive operations have left more than 208,000 Palestinians dead or injured, the majority of whom are children and women, with more than 9,000 missing, and hundreds of thousands displaced, amid a famine that has claimed many lives and led to the destruction of infrastructure and the forced displacement of residents.