The figure is an estimate, “it is likely to be far higher,” Catherine Russel, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said at the end of a visit to this nation.

Thousands of children have lost their lives and hundreds of thousands more remain at risk of death from diseases or preventable hunger, Russel said.

Given this situation, the official called for a renewed armistice between the government forces and the Houthi rebels, considering that it would be the “first positive step that would allow critical humanitarian access.”

UNICEF highlighted that more than 23.4 million Yemenis, three-quarters of the national population, need assistance and protection, and 17.8 million people lack access to water, sanitation, and hygiene services.

The war in Yemen began in 2014 when Houthi rebels took up arms and occupied large regions of the country, including Sana’a, its capital.

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