Jerusalem., The children of Gaza are in a situation of extreme vulnerability, warned Jonathan Crickx, spokesperson for Unicef in the Palestinian Territories, after returning from a mission in the strip, where Hamas and Israel have been fighting a war for almost a year.
The Israeli army bombed the Palestinian territory three or four times early this Monday, according to AFP journalists. The number of airstrikes, however, has decreased markedly in recent days as Israel increases military pressure on the Lebanese Hezbollah movement on its northern border.
“You see children everywhere, as they are not in school and must contribute to the subsistence needs of their families. Many carry dirty yellow plastic drums, sometimes 25 liters. I even saw one pushing him in a broken wheelchair. They try to bring water to their homes, since access to water is still a big problem. You also see a lot of children looking for food,” Crickx said.
The Unicef spokesperson in the Palestinian Territories also explained that something never seen before the war is observed: very young children, five or six years old, walking among huge piles of garbage, trying to recover what they can, especially cardboard for lighting. fire and cook. In summary, he stated that there are children who do not have a normal life, which is very worrying for their future.
The Unicef member stated that the faces of the minors “are very closed, very sad, they do not smile. “They are deeply affected by the violence, the intensity of the bombings and the insecurity they have suffered over the last year.”
In that sense, many children lost a member of their family, sometimes one of the parents, sometimes both. It is very difficult to obtain exact figures, but we encounter many children in these situations. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that there are 19,000 children unaccompanied or separated from their parents, Crickx said.
“The situation in the schools is a complete disaster. 85 percent of school buildings are destroyed. “None of the school-aged children have attended school in the last 12 months.”
Finally, the Unicef spokesperson asserted that what really impacts is that “children want to go to school, play with their friends, see their teachers and learn. Because? Because education gives hope, and right now, the children of Gaza don’t have that hope.”
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– 2024-10-01 13:33:48
