Geneva, Switzerland – Gaza is “the most dangerous place in the world” for a child, the UN children’s agency spokesperson said Tuesday, expressing his rage at the situation there after returning from the Palestinian territory.
“I’m furious that those with power shrug at the humanitarian nightmares unleashed on a million children,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told a press briefing after spending nearly two weeks in Gaza.
He spoke of children having undergone amputations and who were then “killed in those hospitals” as the Israeli army bombardment of the Gaza Strip continues after the unprecedented October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel.
“I’m furious that there are more children hiding as we speak who will no doubt be hit and have amputations in the coming days,” he said.
He said the Nasser hospital in southern Gaza’s main city Khan Yunis — the largest facility still functioning — “was shelled twice” in the last 48 hours.
This hospital “not only shelters large numbers of children who had already been badly injured in attacks on their homes, but hundreds of women and children seeking safety,” he said.
The attack by Hamas members who burst through the Gaza border fence killed 1,139 people — mostly civilians — in Israel, with 250 abducted, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said Israel’s retaliatory assault has killed at least 19,667 people, mostly women and children, while devastating large swathes of the coastal territory.
“I’m furious that Christmas is likely going to bring increased savagery and attacks as the world is distracted with its own love and goodwill,” Elder said, deploring the deaths of thousands of children in Gaza who are “becoming statistics”.
“I’m furious that hypocrisy is crushing empathy,” he said of the situation, adding, “I’m furious at myself for not being able to do more.”