“Children are being denied their right to life and health (…) Protecting hospitals and delivering life-saving medical supplies is a duty under the laws of war,” Adele Khodr, regional director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said in a statement.

Children in Gaza are on the brink, especially in the north, because they have nowhere to go and are in danger, which is why we are calling for immediate end to attacks on health care facilities, she added.

In the last 24 hours, she warned, medical care at the Al-Rantisi and Al-Nasr children’s hospitals almost stopped, with only a small power generator now supplying electricity to ICU and neonatal units.

Khodr noted that fighting is being reported in the vicinity of Al-Rantisi children’s hospital, while the Al-Nasr children’s hospital was damaged by an Israeli attack.

A children’s hospital in the north has already been paralyzed due to damage and fuel shortages, while another specialized in maternity care urgently needs diesel to continue its work, she said.

Khodr recalled that “children’s health services in the Gaza Strip were already dangerously overburdened before the current wave of violence began.”

Before the new cycle of hostilities, the health sector lacked adequate medical infrastructure and equipment, and services, including water, were often interrupted by power cuts, she stressed.

The UNICEF regional director also criticized the displacement of 1.5 million people in the enclave, including 700,000 minors.

The risk of water-borne diseases and other related problems is increasing every day and especially threatens children, she said.

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