Baghdad: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has revealed that an average of 28 children are being killed every day in the Gaza Strip, due to continued bombardment, hunger, and a lack of humanitarian aid for more than 660 days.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the organization stated that children in Gaza are “dying from bombardment, malnutrition, hunger, and the lack of essential services,” noting that “the daily death toll among children is equivalent to an entire classroom.”

UNICEF stressed that Gaza’s children are in urgent need of food, water, medical care, and protection, but emphasized that “above all, they need a ceasefire now.”

In the same context, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq, stated that the humanitarian aid currently entering Gaza covers less than half of the population’s basic needs.

He explained that “what is being allowed into Gaza is far from sufficient, and there is a severe hunger crisis,” adding that “the main issue lies in Israel’s control
over all border crossings and checkpoints.”

Haq pointed out that the inspection process at the two crossings through which the UN is permitted to deliver aid is complex and slow. He stressed that “what Gaza needs is the reinstatement of the UN-managed distribution network and the facilitation of aid entry through land crossings.”