UNICEF warns of deteriorating conditions of children in Gaza Strip
Geneva (ST) – The spokesman for the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) in the Palestinian territories, Jonathan Crickx, warned today of the seriousness of the deteriorating conditions of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip against the backdrop of the ongoing Israeli aggression against it for about a year.
Agence France-Presse quoted Crickx as saying: “A large number of children have lost a family member or members, and we meet many children in these conditions, and estimates indicate that 19,000 children are unaccompanied,” noting the severe impact and suffering of children from violence, the intensity of the bombing and the lack of stability.
He pointed out that the situation of schools is a complete disaster, as 85 percent of the buildings have been destroyed and all school-age children have not attended a single hour of class during the past 12 months.
He pointed to the consequences of the state of severe overcrowding coupled with a very high population density, which creates very poor health conditions, stressing that these conditions constitute an ideal formula for the emergence of diseases, especially among children, at a time when most hospitals suffer from a lack of services and are out of service.
Najla Khoury