DaysofPal- UNICEF has raised urgent concerns about the immense humanitarian crisis affecting children in Gaza, emphasizing that while the recently announced ceasefire is a critical step, it alone cannot alleviate the deep and lasting scars inflicted by the conflict.
Rosalia Bollen, spokesperson for UNICEF, highlighted the enormity of the task ahead in delivering aid to Gaza’s devastated population. “The challenges are tremendous,” Bollen said. She emphasized that the ceasefire is only the beginning of a long road to recovery. “A ceasefire on its own doesn’t take that suffering away.”
Bollen also stressed the unique and overwhelming psychological toll the war has taken on Gaza’s children. “Some of the aid that children in Gaza need is not that we can bring in on trucks. Every single child in Gaza today is deeply, deeply scarred, and traumatized by what they’ve witnessed. They’ve gone through things that no child should ever have to witness,” she told *Al Jazeera*.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell echoed these concerns, describing the catastrophic impact of the conflict on Gaza’s youngest and most vulnerable. “The war has exacted a horrific toll on Gaza’s children, reportedly leaving at least 14,500 dead, thousands more injured, an estimated 17,000 unaccompanied or separated from their parents, and nearly one million displaced from their homes,” Russell said.
Russell also underscored the urgent need for large-scale humanitarian assistance to address the widespread devastation. “The scale of humanitarian needs is enormous, and UNICEF and partners are ready to scale up our response.
The ceasefire must, finally, allow humanitarian actors to safely roll out the massive response inside the Gaza Strip that is so desperately needed.
This includes unimpeded access to reach all children and families with essential food and nutrition, health care and psychosocial support, clean water and sanitation, education, cash assistance, and the resumption of commercial trucking operations.”
She further emphasized the need for urgent action to address the collapse of essential services across Gaza. “With the collapse of essential services across Gaza, we must act urgently to save lives and help children recover,” Russell stated.
UNICEF has welcomed the ceasefire as “long overdue” for the children and families of Gaza, who have faced relentless bombardment and deprivation for more than a year, as well as for the hostages in Gaza and their families in Israel, who have also endured immense suffering.
While the ceasefire brings a moment of hope, UNICEF’s leaders stress that the global community must now work together to ensure that aid reaches Gaza’s children and that their physical and emotional wounds are healed. The focus, as UNICEF has made clear, must remain on saving lives, restoring essential services, and providing a future for children who have endured unimaginable trauma.
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