“Simply put – we do not have the necessary conditions in the Gaza Strip for a robust humanitarian response,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement issued in the wake of an attack on one of the agency’s vehicles and the latest Israeli evacuation order in Khan Younis.
Children suffer ‘permanent scars’
Ms. Russell began by acknowledging the dire conditions in Gaza, where “with each passing week, families face new horrors”.
She said devastating attacks on schools and sites housing displaced people continue, reportedly killing hundreds more Palestinians and further straining the already overburdened hospitals in the enclave.
“We see children who withstood previous injuries only to be hurt again. Doctors and nurses with no resources, struggling to save lives. Thousands of boys and girls sick, hungry, injured, or separated from their families,” she said.
“The violence and deprivation are leaving permanent scars on their vulnerable bodies and minds. And now, with a breakdown in sanitation and sewage treatment, the polio virus joins the list of threats, especially for the thousands of unvaccinated children.”
Humanitarian situation ‘beyond catastrophic’
Meanwhile, “as families are repeatedly forced to move to escape the immediate violence, the humanitarian situation is beyond catastrophic,” she said.
Although UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies are doing everything they can to respond, “the dire situation and attacks against humanitarian personnel continue to obstruct our efforts.”
On Tuesday, a clearly-marked UNICEF vehicle was hit by bullets while waiting at a designated holding point near the Wadi Gaza checkpoint. It was one of two vehicles that were going to collect five young children and reunite them their father after their mother was killed.
“Fortunately, no one was injured, and the team managed to reunite the family,” she said. “Yet in this incident, like others before it, the humanitarian consequences could have been horrific.”
Safe, unimpeded aid access
Stating that the conditions in Gaza do not support a robust humanitarian response, she said that “the flow of aid must be unimpeded and access must be regular and safe.”
For nearly nine months, aid has trickled in, civilians have been deprived of supplies, and the commercial sector has been decimated, she said.
The result has been growing competition for the little that is available, smuggling of goods into Gaza, and the increasingly organized looting of aid supplies which “not only impedes our efforts to reach vulnerable families but puts our teams and the civilians we are supporting at risk.”
At least 278 aid workers killed
The situation is exacerbated by the operating conditions on the ground, she continued, noting that at least 278 aid workers have already been killed to date – a record number – while others are put in harm’s way or prevented from doing their jobs.
“We need an immediate improved security environment, including security for aid delivery trucks, to allow aid workers to safely reach the communities they intend to serve,” Ms. Russell said.
“Most critically, we need an immediate and sustainable ceasefire.”
The UNICEF chief called on all parties to the conflict to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, and to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
“It is long past time for this crisis to end, for hostages to be returned to their families and for the children of Gaza to have a healthy and secure future,” she said.
