- US Fed Chair sees 'further disinflation' in economy
- Israeli forces in 'limited' Lebanon ground operations against Hezbollah: US
- Guardiola promises strong City side in Slovan Champions League tie
- Brazilians choke as fire smoke blankets 80% of country
- Netflix loses bid to toss 'Baby Reindeer' defamation lawsuit
- Renault to end Formula One engine production from 2026
- Epic Games sues Google and Samsung over app store
- PSG's Dembele axed for Arsenal clash over disciplinary reasons: Luis Enrique
- Bulked-up Wemby eyes Spurs playoff return
- Officials see no shortages from likely US port strike
- Mexico president gives 1,438th - and last - edition of 'AMLO Show'
- UK families of Gaza hostages warn Lebanon attack 'takes focus away'
- Dissident brother of Nicaragua's Ortega dead: army
- 100 deaths put Hurricane Helene at election center stage
- Seven killed in gang-ridden Ecuador's latest massacre
- Gaza children 'extremely impacted' by war: UNICEF
- Haiti security mission extended for one year as WFP sounds alarm
- South Africa pick three spinners for Bangladesh Test series
- Shares in Stellantis, Aston Martin skid on profit warnings
- Oasis announces North American concert dates
- Israel threatens 'all means' against Hezbollah after Nasrallah killing
- Basketball great Mutombo dies aged 58: NBA
- Dali prints found in London garage sold at auction
- ECB chief backs bank mergers amid UniCredit, Commerzbank talk
- 'Billions of birds' killed for fashion says designer McCartney
- Haiti security mission extended for one year
- Russia plans sharp defence spending hike in 2025
- Britain and Italy inseparable in Louis Vuitton Cup final
- African players in Europe: Salah takes Liverpool to top
- California governor vetoes AI safety bill
- 100 dead in storm Helene damage, flooding across US southeast
- Boris is back with a book but UK Tories say he's history
- Austria faces uncertainty after historic far-right election win
- Sinner defies doping case to reach Beijing last four
- Dortmund's Sahin grateful for Rodgers impact ahead of Celtic clash
- Arteta says last-gasp heroics shape Arsenal 'character' as PSG loom
- Jaiswal leads India batting charge in rain-hit Bangladesh Test
- Flick excited for De Jong Barca return against Young Boys
- German antitrust watchdog steps up monitoring of Microsoft
- Neymar trains again with Saudi team after long injury lay-off
- Germany women's captain Popp announces international retirement
- Humbert beats Machac to reach Japan Open final
- Putin vows to reach all 'goals' in Ukraine as army claims new ground
- Ghezal axed as Stade Francais coach
- Ten Hag on the brink after fresh mauling for 'disgusting' Man Utd
- Nepal surveys flood wreckage as death toll reaches 200
- Hezbollah vows to keep fighting Israel after Nasrallah killing
- India's Jaiswal hits rapid fifty after Jadeja's 300th Test wicket
- Nepal's urban poor count cost of 'nightmare' floods
- France star Griezmann retires from international football
RIO | -0.11% | 71.155 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.15% | 24.735 | $ | |
BTI | -0.86% | 36.525 | $ | |
RBGPF | 7.18% | 64.75 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.14% | 7.03 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.72% | 24.9 | $ | |
NGG | -0.13% | 69.64 | $ | |
VOD | -0.8% | 10.01 | $ | |
RELX | -0.37% | 47.385 | $ | |
SCS | 1.46% | 13.345 | $ | |
GSK | 0.11% | 40.755 | $ | |
BP | -0.11% | 31.385 | $ | |
JRI | 0.51% | 13.65 | $ | |
BCC | -0.97% | 140.13 | $ | |
BCE | -1.22% | 34.765 | $ | |
AZN | 0.24% | 77.81 | $ |
Gaza children 'extremely impacted' by war: UNICEF
Nearly a year of devastating war has left Gaza's 2.4 million people enduring a humanitarian tragedy, with children in the besieged territory the most vulnerable, a UNICEF official told AFP in an interview.
Jonathan Crickx, the UN agency's spokesman for the Palestinian territories, has returned this month from a week-long mission to Gaza, still heavily impacted even as Israel shifts its military focus to Lebanon.
He talked to AFP about the plight of Gaza's children, who have not had a single day of education since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7.
"You see children who are not allowed to have the life of normal children, no education, no play, no joy," Crickx said.
"The faces of these children are... so sad."
Most children he saw in the war-battered Palestinian territory were helping their family as they no longer had classes to attend.
"So, you see a lot of children carrying these dirty yellow plastic jerrycans" with up to 25 litres of water, he said.
"I've seen children pushing these jerrycans with a broken wheelchair, trying to bring water, which is one of the major issues... in the Gaza Strip."
Crickx said it was heartbreaking to see children, some as young as five or six, trying to find food for their families.
They are "walking in huge piles of garbage and trying to get whatever they can," he said.
"These children are extremely impacted by the violence and the bombings and insecurity they have been through for a year."
- 'They want to go to school' -
Crickx vividly remembers his conversation with Ahmad, a 10-year-old Gazan boy who lived with his family in a displacement camp in southern Gaza.
The boy's uncle had died a horrific death, Crickx said.
Ahmad "was saying things that a 10-year-old should not tell you, how the body was in pieces, how the head was far away", he recalled.
"This is extremely intense and difficult to hear from a 10-year-old child."
Many children in Gaza have lost at least one of their parents, said Crickx.
Exact figures are unavailable, "but the frequency at which we meet with those children is very high," he said.
UNICEF estimates that there are 19,000 children who are unaccompanied or have been separated from their parents, he said.
On top of that, not a single school is functioning across Gaza, he said, and 85 percent of all school buildings have been destroyed by the fighting.
"You have the entire population of school-aged children who didn't attend a single hour of class in the past 12 months," Crickx said.
"What is really striking is how they want to go to school, how they want to play with their friends, how they want to see their teachers... education, learning give hope."
- 'Terrible recipe' for disease -
UN agencies and aid groups have warned of the spread of preventable disease and other health risks compounded by the war.
"With a very high level of density of people, extremely bad hygiene conditions, high temperatures, too little access to a bathroom, it's the perfect, terrible recipe for the emergence of diseases," Crickx said.
Many children are sick and need treatment, but most hospitals across Gaza are not functioning.
"This situation is really leading to children not getting the proper treatment that they need," Crickx said.
He said he had met four children in northern Gaza's Kamal Adwan hospital who were suffering from cancer or heart problems.
"These children actually need an immediate medical evacuation (or) they will not make it," he said.
H.Portela--PC