The UN children’s agency calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, unrestricted access to safe water, and sanitation for children in Gaza, as well as the safe release of abducted Israeli children.
By Sr. Titilayo Aduloju, SSMA
About one million children in Gaza lack access to safe water and sanitation, as the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to escalate.
Running at its lowest capacity because of fuel rationing, the largest UNICEF-supported desalination plant in the blockaded Gaza Strip is in operation, but it only provides for around 500,000 people, half of them children, yielding a life-saving 3 litres of potable water each day.
To keep the desalination plant running, there is a need for an immediate supply of gasoline. “We urgently need fuel to keep it going,” said UNICEF, the UN children’s agency.
Children need urgent water
One of the suffering children expressed sadness over the ongoing war in the Middle East as children continue to die from violence and suffer a lack of adequate food and safe water.
“We barely get a piece of bread or some water to drink, wash things, or clean ourselves,” she lamented.
She also said they live in a tent inside a shelter in Deir al-Balah, where there is no water or bathroom.
“We stand under the sun for three hours,” she continued, expressing her difficulty in getting a small bucket of water to meet the needs of about 70 people.
Gaza Receving food at a United Nations school in Rafah, on the southern Gaza Strip
Life is difficult here
Commenting on the difficult life situation the people in the Gaza Strip are experiencing, one mother said, “We are suffering from slow death”.
“We want water for our children,” she continued, “There is not enough water for us. We are thirsty.”
Gaza Children in need of safe water
UNICEF calls for an immediate ceasefire
According to UNICEF, “there are still more than 1 million children in the Gaza Strip in need of clean and safe water.”
The organisation is calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, unrestricted access to Gaza, and the safe release of all abducted children.
Humanitarian access must be maintained, unhindered, and safe, the organisation added.
“Children need an immediate ceasefire.”
