In a stark and urgent plea, UNICEF issued a statement on Friday condemning the escalating violence in Gaza that has claimed the lives and well-being of hundreds of children.

The agency declared: “Hundreds and hundreds of children have been killed and injured. Every hour in Gaza, the number of children killed rises. The killing of children must stop.”

UNICEF painted a harrowing picture of the situation, describing children with severe burns, mortar wounds, and lost limbs, overwhelming hospitals struggling to cope with the influx of casualties.

The agency warned that the humanitarian situation has reached critical levels, with further attacks looming on the horizon. "Compassion – and international law – must prevail," emphasized UNICEF.

As a ground assault is anticipated in one of the most densely populated places on the planet, nearly 1.1 million people, half of them children, have been instructed to evacuate. However, the statement highlighted the absence of safe havens for civilians.

The dire conditions in Gaza were underscored by UNICEF's observation that children and families are on the brink of running out of essential resources such as food, water, electricity, medicine, and access to hospitals.

The sole power plant in Gaza ran out of fuel, shutting down vital services, including electricity, water, and wastewater treatment. With days of air strikes and supply route disruptions, residents can no longer access drinking water from service providers or household pipelines.

Moreover, airstrikes have damaged at least six water wells, three water pumping stations, one water reservoir, and one desalination plant, jeopardizing the water supply for over a million people.

UNICEF urgently called for a ceasefire, stressing the need for humanitarian access to deliver life-saving services and supplies to children and families wherever they may be.

The agency emphasized that in every conflict, it is the children who suffer the most, and this tragic reality holds true in the current situation.

As the international community watches the crisis unfold, concerns about the well-being and safety of civilians, especially children, in Gaza continue to mount.

. (ILKHA)