Geneva: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) confirmed that children in Gaza are facing unprecedented suffering due to Israel’s “excessive response,” with 61,000 children killed or seriously injured since October 2023, an average of one child every 17 minutes.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, the organization’s representative, Ricardo Perez, described these figures during a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday as “shocking and unacceptable.” Perez explained that children have been subjected to psychological trauma, have become orphans, and have been displaced multiple times, adding that “disease and violence have reached unprecedented levels in Gaza.”

UNICEF revealed that one in five children in Gaza is now born prematurely, often to mothers suffering from hunger and psychological stress.