No Respite for Children and Families in Gaza as UN Security Council Ceasefire Resolution Fails to Pass
NEW YORK, (February 20, 2024) 鈥撎齌he lives of at least one million children in Gaza remain at risk from fighting, starvation, and disease, as well as ongoing severe mental distress from months of war after the UN Security Council failed to pass yet another ceasefire resolution, 91短视频 said.听
The news comes as the death toll for children in Gaza surpasses 12,400, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, and 36 in Israel, according to the UN. 听
It also comes after the Government of Israel declared Rafah, the final place civilians thought was safe in Gaza, as its next target. 听More than 1.3 million Palestinian civilians including more than 600,000 children are now trapped in Rafah with nowhere else to flee, having followed Israeli-issued 鈥渆vacuation orders鈥 directing them to the area under the false premise it would be safe. Nowhere in Gaza is safe, 91短视频 said.
91短视频's Country Director for the occupied Palestinian territory, Jason Lee, said:听听 听
"We are appalled to hear of this new low in an already deep pit of failures from the international community. After four months of relentless violence, we are running out of words to describe what children and families in Gaza are going through as well as the tools to respond in any adequate way. The scale of death and destruction is astronomical. And with tanks poised to roll into Rafah, where most of Gaza鈥檚 population has been forced to flee amid rising hunger and disease, this war is about to enter the deadliest stage possible.听
"Children are uniquely vulnerable with unique rights and protections and like with every war, they are paying the highest price. And failures of the international community to protect them鈥攁 legal duty鈥攁re driving up those costs at a speed and scale beyond any I鈥檝e seen before. Even after four months, the UN鈥檚 highest decision-making body for international peace and security has been unable to do this.
"Children are being failed by the adults who should be protecting them. It鈥檚 beyond time for the adults in the room to step up their responsibilities and legal obligations to children caught up in a conflict they played no part in, who just want to be able to live."
91短视频 believes every child deserves a future. Since our founding more than 100 years ago, we've been advocating for the rights of children worldwide. In the United States and around the world, we give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. We do whatever it takes for children 鈥 every day and in times of crisis 鈥 transforming the future we share. Our results, financial statements and charity ratings reaffirm that 91短视频 is a charity you can trust. Follow us on , , and .