UN relief chief Martin Griffiths, who has been visiting Israel
and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, spoke to families in Gaza
over the phone from east Jerusalem on Tuesday and said that what
they have endured since the start of Israel’s retaliation for
Hamas’ deadly 7 October attacks is “beyond devastating”.
“When an eight-year-old tells you that she doesn’t want
to die, it’s hard not to feel helpless,” he wrote on
social platform X.
Hostages’ families ‘living in agony’
On Monday Mr. Griffiths met in Jerusalem with family members of
some of the more than 230 hostages held in Gaza since 7 October.
Reportedly about 30 of them kidnapped by Hamas terrorists are
children.
The UN relief chief said that for the past weeks these families
“have been living in agony, not knowing if their loved ones are
dead or alive”, and that he couldn’t “begin to imagine” what they
are going through.
The UN has repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional
release of the hostages.
‘Unbearable’ thought of children buried under
rubble
Reportedly more than 3,450 children have been killed in Gaza
according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, UN Children’s Fund
(UNICEF) spokesperson
James Elder told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.
Another 1,000 children have been reported missing and may
be trapped or dead under the rubble, awaiting rescue or
recovery, UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said.
OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke said that it is “almost unbearable
to think about children buried under rubble with very little
possibility for getting them out”.
Decades of trauma ahead
“Threats go beyond the bombs and mortars”, UNICEF’s James Elder
stressed. Infant deaths due to dehydration are “a growing
threat” in the enclave as Gaza’s water production is at
five per cent of the required volume due to non-functioning
desalination plants which are either damaged or lack fuel.
When the fighting finally stops, the costs to children “will be
borne out for decades to come”, he said, due to the horrific
trauma faced by survivors.
I do not have the luxury to think about my children’s mental
health – I just need to keep them alive
Mr. Elder cited the example of a UNICEF staffer’s four-year-old
daughter in Gaza who has started self-harming because of the
daily stress and fear, while her mother told colleagues, “I do
not have the luxury to think about my children’s mental health –
I just need to keep them alive”.
Humanitarian ceasefire essential
Mr. Elder reiterated calls, “on behalf of the 1.1 million
children in Gaza living through this nightmare”, for an immediate
humanitarian ceasefire and opening of all access points for
sustained entry of humanitarian aid.
“If we had a ceasefire for 72 hours, this would mean a thousand
children would be safe again for this time,” he said.
Aid ‘a fraction of what is needed’
On Monday, a total of 26 trucks carrying humanitarian
supplies entered Gaza through the Rafah crossing with
Egypt, OCHA’s Jens Laerke said, with the hope that more trucks
will enter on Tuesday.
This brings the total number of trucks allowed through the
crossing from 21 to 30 October to 143.
OCHA stressed that while the increase in the volume of aid
entering Gaza in the past two days is welcome, “current amounts
are a fraction of what is needed to prevent further deterioration
in the already-dire humanitarian situation, including civil
unrest”. Before the escalation close to 500 trucks, both
commercial and humanitarian, would enter the enclave every
working day, including some 50 trucks of fuel.
Briefing the UN Security Council on
Monday, Mr. Griffiths spoke about the urgency of replenishing
fuel supplies, “vital for powering most essential services,
including hospitals and water desalination plants, and to
transport humanitarian relief inside Gaza”.
Attacks on healthcare
The public health catastrophe in the enclave is being compounded
by attacks on health. UN health agency (WHO) said that it has
documented 82 in Gaza
so far.
OCHA warned that the vicinities of two hospitals in Gaza city and
northern Gaza were reportedly bombarded for the second
consecutive day on Monday, prompting Mr. Griffiths to share his
concern with the Security Council over “allegations of military
installations in the close vicinity of hospitals and the request
by Israeli authorities for hospitals, including Al Quds and
Shifa, to be evacuated”.
Protect medical facilities ‘at all times’
In response to a question over these allegations, UN human rights
office (OHCHR) spokesperson
Liz Throssell reiterated on Tuesday that hospitals are protected
buildings under international humanitarian law.
If proven, the use of human shields in hospitals would amount to
a war crime, she said. However, “regardless of the actions of one
side, for example using hospitals for military purposes, the
other side must comply with international humanitarian rules on
the conduct of hostilities” which extend special protection to
medical units at all times, she insisted.
Where medical units lose their special protection as a result of
being used outside their humanitarian function to commit acts
harmful to the enemy, and where a warning for the harmful use to
cease has gone unheeded, “still, any attack must comply with the
principles of precautions in attack and proportionality”, Ms.
Throssell explained.
