UNICEF: Situation in Gaza Looks Desperate

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) spokesperson James Elder has met with some Palestinian children and their families during the humanitarian truce in Gaza.

In a statement, Elder said: "The situation on the ground looks desperate, whether it’s the physical structure – just seeing apartment block after apartment block, destroyed rubble on the ground, concrete, blown up cars, people fleeing their homes, or whether it’s just the look on people’s faces, just the trauma, the stress, as if sorrow and sadness have taken root here in Gaza."

He continued: "It’s an immensely difficult time right now, and, of course, this is actually the humanitarian pause. People are recovering from so much over the last seven weeks and are so frightful that things will start again."

The UNICEF official, who has joined the aid effort in the besieged enclave, mentioned that nearly 1.5 million people have lost their homes, noting that many families are in various shelters, and hospitals are full of children with the wounds of war.