Whole generation of children ‘lost’ amid ongoing Gaza war, UNICEF warns

Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director for Humanitarian Action, stressed the urgent need for an immediate end to the hostilities and a negotiated political settlement that prioritises the rights and well-being of both Israeli and Palestinian children, now and in the future.

He was briefing and taking questions from journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, via video link from the West Bank, having concluded a visit to Israel and Palestine.

Relay the suffering of children

Mr. Chaiban recalled his meeting with Israeli children and families who were affected by the 7 October 2023 attacks, stating that “they asked me to be the voice of all children to relay their suffering.”

He added that UNICEF will work with relevant ministries in Israel to ensure the children there are supported.

Mr. Chaiban also asked Israeli authorities for increased access for aid and commercial goods, in particular fresh food and nutrition supplies.

“I advocated for protecting children, improved security measures, and standard operating procedures for humanitarian personnel and facilitating the movement of separated unaccompanied children,” he said.

Risk of lost generation

In Gaza and the West Bank, the senior UNICEF official warned of a “lost generation” of children, who have lost months of learning and endured agonizing trauma.

He visited Kamal Adwan Hospital in north Gaza – the only remaining paediatric unit in the area – meeting a few months-old baby who was wounded by shrapnel. Her mother was the only other survivor of a strike.

“The baby is a striking reminder of the thousands and thousands of children who have been killed and injured in the Gaza Strip in the past 11 months,” Mr. Chaiban said, as he cited the situation of other children suffering from cancer and other deadly diseases.

“If we do not evacuate them quickly, they will not make it. We will make all efforts with our colleagues at WHO (UN World Health Organization) to get these children out for treatment.”

Living in wastewater

Mr. Chaiban also described how families are living in overcrowded shelters in squalid conditions.

“I visited a school, which was turned into a shelter. There in the middle of the school court, people had dug a makeshift open sewer to evacuate wastewater – people and children are literally living in that wastewater,” he said, warning that conditions were rife for emergence and spread of diseases.

He added that aid deliveries to the enclave have fallen sharply, from an average of up to 100 trucks a day in January, to 50 in August, and just 15 in September. Reasons included concerns over law and order, limitations on the fence road, and insufficient entry points.

Ceasefire now

Mr. Chaiban underscored the urgent need for a ceasefire to protect the lives children, enable the delivery of critical aid, and the unconditional release of all hostages, especially the two children.

“In the absence of a ceasefire, we need the kind of pauses that allowed for the polio campaign,” he said, reiterating the need for increased security for staff, standardized checkpoint procedures and enhanced telecom capacity in Gaza, including Internet.

“The continued destruction of Gaza and the escalating violence in the West Bank will not bring peace or safety to the region – that can only be achieved with a negotiated political solution, one that prioritises the rights and well-being of this and future generation of Israeli and Palestinian children,” he said.

Independent rights panel expressed deep concern

Meanwhile in Geneva earlier, top independent human rights experts on Thursday expressed concern over the “high number” of children in Gaza killed as a result of the war and the damaging impact on Palestinian youngsters being detained by Israel.

Following a scheduled review of Israel, the Committee on the Rights of the Child condemned the fact that children in Gaza had been “killed, maimed, injured”, or were “missing, displaced, orphaned and subjected to famine, malnutrition and disease, as a result of [Israel’s] indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks”.

According to the Palestinian authorities, more than 11,300 children have been killed since Israeli bombardment of Gaza began on 7 October in response to Hamas-led terror attacks.

The child rights panel – whose members are not UN staff – also said that they were deeply worried about the “continued abduction, arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention of large numbers of Palestinian children by Israeli forces, mostly without charge, trial or legal representation”.

Exploding pagers ‘a terrifying violation’: Rights experts

In the wider Middle East region, UN independent rights experts on Thursday condemned the “malicious manipulation” of thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies to explode simultaneously across Lebanon and Syria, describing the attacks as “terrifying” violations of international law.

“A climate of fear now pervades everyday life in Lebanon,” the Human Rights Council-appointed experts said in a news release.

The attacks reportedly killed at least 32 people and maimed or injured 3,250, including 200 critically.

Among the dead are a boy and a girl, as well as medical personnel. Around 500 people suffered severe eye injuries, including a diplomat. Others suffered grave injuries to their faces, hands, and bodies.

“These attacks violate the human right to life, absent any indication that the victims posed an imminent lethal threat to anyone else at the time,” the experts said, calling for prompt, independent investigation to establish the truth and enable accountability.

Disguised booby-traps  

The experts further noted that international humanitarian law prohibits the use of booby-traps disguised as apparently harmless portable objects.

That added that at the time of the attacks there was no way of knowing who possessed each device and who was nearby.

“Simultaneous attacks by thousands of devices would inevitably violate humanitarian law, by failing to verify each target, and distinguish between protected civilians and those who could potentially be attacked for taking a direct part in hostilities,” they said.

Appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the experts are mandated to monitor and report on thematic and country human rights situations. They are independent of the United Nations, are not UN staff and do not draw a salary.