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The United Nations Security Council has heard from several agencies describing the situation in Gaza, which have called for a ceasefire and the protection of civilians.
Executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund Catherine Russell told the Security Council the lack of clean water and safe sanitation in Gaza is on “the verge of becoming a catastrophe”.
“More than 420 children are being killed or injured in Gaza every day – a number which should shake each of us to our core.
“Unless access to clean water is urgently restored, more civilians, including children, will fall ill or die from dehydration or waterborne diseases,” she said.
“As if this wasn’t enough, children in both Israel and the State of Palestine are experiencing terrible trauma – the consequences of which could last a lifetime.”
Russell said the agency was doing its best to reach all children in need, but the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza was extremely challenging.
The United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs had representative Lisa Doughten brief on Gaza, saying more than 1.4 million people are internally displaced in Gaza.
“We are deeply concerned by allegations of military installations in the close vicinity of hospitals and the request by Israeli authorities for hospitals, including Al Quds and Shifa, to be evacuated – there is nowhere safe for these patients to go, and for those on life support and babies in incubators, moving would almost certainly be a death sentence,” she said.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency For Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini, also gave an update, saying “this is the highest number of UN aid workers killed in a conflict in such a short time”.
“There must be strict adherence to international humanitarian law,” he said.
“This means civilians and civilian infrastructure, including UN premises, schools, hospitals, places of worship, and shelters hosting civilians must be protected all over the Gaza Strip, north and south, and at all times.”
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