UNICEF: Israeli Blockade Threatens One Million Palestinian Children

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that Israel’s prevention of humanitarian aid from entering Gaza has put the lives of nearly one million Palestinian children at risk.

UNICEF emphasized the urgent need to reopen Gaza’s border crossings, citing severe shortages of drinking water, food, and medicine.

Following a four-day visit to the West Bank and Gaza, UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Director Edouard Beigbeder, stated: “Without aid entering the Gaza Strip, roughly 1 million children are living without the very basics they need to survive – yet again.”

He added that nearly all the 2.4 million children living across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, are affected in some way. 

UNICEF has called for the immediate entry of life-saving supplies for Palestinian children, stressing that there is no justification for preventing this aid from reaching those in need.

Beigbeder also met with displaced mothers and children in Jenin, describing their situation as heartbreaking: “They told me how much they were suffering from the violence, the fear, and the disruption to education. They said they were not asking for charity, just for the respect of their rights and the possibility to return to their homes.”

He further emphasized: “Tens of thousands of children have been killed and injured. We must not go back to a situation that pushes these numbers higher.”

Meanwhile, recent Israeli attacks have killed at least 200 Palestinians.