Aftermath of Khan Younis airstrikes. Gaza: Death toll exceeds 45,000 Peace and Security
More than 45,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the past 14 months, according to local authorities. On Monday, UN humanitarian agencies condemned more deadly airstrikes, including one on a school sheltering displaced people.
A strike on a UN school in Khan Younis killed 13 people and injured 48, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA). The victims said they had received no warning to evacuate.
“I was at Nasser hospital this morning. One of the girls I spoke to was Mona, she’s 17. She has severe injuries to her leg, very severe shrapnel wounds. She was in hospital with her sister… Their mother was killed in the rubble,” UNRWA spokeswoman Louise Wateridge told UN News.
Another victim of the strike, two-year-old Julia, suffered severe head injuries and lost the sight in one eye. Her five-year-old brother was also seriously injured.
Child Casualties
More than 14,500 children have been killed in the 14 months of war in Gaza, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Almost all of the enclave’s 1.1 million young residents urgently need protection and mental health support, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said. She added that the threat of mass starvation remains in the north of the Strip, and humanitarian access there remains limited.
Read also:
10th emergency session: General Assembly adopts resolutions on ceasefire in Gaza and support for UNRWA
“Children did not start this conflict, and they do not have the power to stop it, but they are the ones paying the highest price for it with their lives and futures,” the UNICEF chief emphasized.
Aid shortage
Meanwhile, the UN agency for aid to Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said more than 8,500 babies in Gaza have received formula milk, but supplies are insufficient. “One of our last functioning health centres has just six boxes to distribute – the first delivery in three months,” the agency said in a statement.
More than 200,000 people rely on the clinic for primary health care. The acute shortage of essential items puts many, including babies and children, at high risk, UNRWA said. “Immediate humanitarian assistance and a ceasefire are critical to saving lives,” the agency said.
The World Food Programme (WFP) also warned that people in Gaza are desperately short of food. Ongoing fighting and insecurity are hampering the distribution of available food aid.