“They were not asking for charity, just for the respect of their rights and the possibility to return to their homes.” – UN agency’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director, Edouard Beigbeder.
UNICEF has called for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza “before it is too late” irrespective of a ceasefire being in place.
“In accordance with international humanitarian law, civilians’ essential needs must be met, and this requires facilitating the entry of life-saving assistance whether or not there is a ceasefire in place,” the UN agency’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director, Edouard Beigbeder, said following a four-day mission to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Palestinian children remain deprived of the most essential supplies and services.
Statement by UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder following his visit to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip: https://t.co/WHPCTG0MlW pic.twitter.com/3YAZOmGQRj
— UNICEF MENA – يونيسف الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا (@UNICEFmena) March 16, 2025
“Any further delays to the entry of aid risk further slowing or shuttering essential services and could fast-reverse the gains made for children during the ceasefire,” he added.
Israel blocked the entry of all relief aid into Gaza at the end of Phase One of the ceasefire agreement on March 1. The Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect on January 19.
One Million Children Affected
“Without aid entering the Gaza Strip, roughly one million children are living without the very basics they need to survive – yet again,” Beigbeder said.
He pointed out that “just a few dozen kilometers” outside the enclave “sit more than 180,000 doses of essential childhood routine vaccines, enough to fully vaccinate and protect 60,000 children under 2 years of age,” as well as 20 lifesaving ventilators for neonatal intensive care units.
“Tragically, approximately 4,000 newborns are currently unable to access essential lifesaving care due to the major impact on medical facilities in the Gaza Strip,” Beigbeder noted, adding,
“Every day without these ventilators, lives are lost, especially among vulnerable, premature newborns in the northern Gaza Strip.”
‘No Reason’
The official said UNICEF was “advocating” for these “lifesaving children’s health supplies” to be allowed to enter, adding “There is no reason why they shouldn’t be.”
“We need to deliver these supplies for children, including newborns, before it is too late. And we must keep essential services running,” he stressed.
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director, met displaced children in a UNICEF supported center in #Jenin, the state of #Palestine. These are some of thousands driven out of their homes due to military operations.
Protecting them and restoring their hope must remain our urgent… pic.twitter.com/MG15EwNrUf
— UNICEF MENA – يونيسف الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا (@UNICEFmena) March 13, 2025
Beigbeder said he visited the UNICEF-supported water desalination plant in Khan Yunis in Gaza, the only facility that received electricity since November 2024 and which has now been disconnected.
“It is now running at only 13 per cent of its capacity, depriving hundreds of thousands of people from drinkable water and sanitation services,” he pointed out.
West Bank
In the West Bank including East Jerusalem, Beigbeder noted, “more than 200 Palestinian and 3 Israeli children were killed since October 2023, the highest figure recorded in such timeframe in the past two decades.”
In Jenin and the north of the West Bank, more than 35,000 have been forced to leave their homes and their belongings and find shelter elsewhere, he continued.
“Education is heavily disrupted for nearly 12,000 children, because of the recent population displacements,” the official stressed adding that children were often exposed to roadblocks and the absence of school supplies.
In Jenin, he met with many displaced mothers and children in shelters. “They told me how much they were suffering from the violence, the fear and the disruption to education. They said they were not asking for charity, just for the respect of their rights and the possibility to return to their homes,” Beigbeder noted.
‘Relentless Conflict’
He said that nearly 2.4 million children living across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip are affected by the “relentless conflict,” adding that the situation is “extremely concerning.”
Beigbeder stated that children “must not be killed, injured or displaced and all parties must respect their obligations under international law.”
“Civilians’ essential and protection needs must be met, and humanitarian assistance must be allowed to flow at speed and scale,” he emphasized.
“Tens of thousands of children have been killed and injured. We must not go back to a situation that pushes these numbers higher,” the UNICEF official warned.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
Be the first to comment