UNICEF Chief Calls for Urgent Security Reset in Gaza amid ‘New Horrors

The head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Catherine Russell has made an appeal for an immediate improvement in the security situation in Gaza.

In a statement in the wake of an attack on one of the agency’s vehicles and the latest Israeli evacuation order in Khan Younis, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said that the dangerous operating conditions and attacks against humanitarian workers continue to hinder aid delivery to communities in need.

“Simply put - we do not have the necessary conditions in the Gaza Strip for a robust humanitarian response,” Russell stressed.

In the same context, 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 noted.

“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. Meanwhile, as families are repeatedly forced to move to escape the immediate violence, the humanitarian situation is beyond catastrophic,” she added.

“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,”UNICEF pointed out.