Video: “The situation is utterly hopeless for the children” in Gaza: UNRWA
Palestinian children in Rafah wait in line on Feb. 10 among the rubble of destroyed buildings to receive food prepared for Palestinian families displaced to southern Gaza due to Israeli attacks.Belal Khaled / Anadolu via Getty Images file
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to deepen as the Israeli military restricts most humanitarian aid from entering the besieged region.
Hundreds of thousands of children are suffering from severe malnutrition, compounding their already dire circumstances.
Louise Wateridge, representing the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), described harrowing scenes in overcrowded shelters housing displaced Palestinians.
The situation is miserable, Wateridge said. She added that wounded children are crying for food and not healing from their injuries.
She recounted the plight of families living in deplorable conditions, with only four mattresses shared among 45 family members.
Sixty-year-old Aisha, residing in one of the shelters, reported nightly infestations of rats creeping under plastic sheets as people sleep.
“The situation is utterly hopeless for the children here,” Wateridge lamented.
Video credit: UNRWA
UN agencies and aid organizations have repeatedly called for unimpeded access to humanitarian supplies to alleviate the suffering of Gaza’s population, particularly its most vulnerable—children.
The ongoing blockade has left many families without adequate shelter, food, or medical care, exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.
