Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on children and the continued bloodshed in the Gaza Strip

NEW YORK, 13 December 2024 – “Yesterday, in yet another devastating attack on Nuseirat camp, in central Gaza, 33 people were reportedly killed – including at least eight children – and 50 wounded by airstrikes. The latest violence adds to a staggering figure of more than 160 children reportedly killed in Gaza in a little over a month. That is an average of four children every day since the beginning of November.  

“Children didn’t start this conflict and they have no power to stop it, yet they are paying the highest price with their lives and futures. In the last 14 months, more than 14,500 children have reportedly been killed, and virtually all 1.1 million children in Gaza are in urgent need of protection and mental health support. Famine continues to loom in the north and humanitarian access remains severely restricted. 

“Children and families throughout Gaza face constant displacement, which has pushed 1.9 million people away from their homes, including hundreds of thousands of children. There is no safe space in Gaza, nor any sense of stability for children, who lack essentials such as food, safe water, medical supplies, and warm clothes as winter temperatures drop. Preventable diseases continue to rapidly spread, including more than 800 cases of hepatitis, and more than 300 cases of chickenpox. Thousands of children are suffering from skin rashes and acute respiratory infections. Winter weather is adding to children’s suffering.

“The world cannot look away when so many children are exposed to daily bloodshed, hunger, disease, and cold. We urgently call on all parties to the conflict, and on those with influence over them, to take decisive action to end the suffering of children, to release all hostages, to ensure children’s rights are upheld, and to adhere to obligations under international humanitarian law.”