Nearly 130,000 children under 10 are trapped in northern Gaza without access to food and medicine

12/04/2024 / By Laura Harris

International charity Save the Children has revealed that nearly 130,000 children under the age of 10 are trapped in northern Gaza, without access to food and medical supplies.

Those children, along with their families, have been unable to receive critical assistance for over 50 days as Israeli forces declared the region a closed military zone on Oct. 6, 2024. The Israeli forces have blocked humanitarian aid efforts despite escalating warnings from international organizations about the growing threat of famine. (Related: UNICEF: Extensive Israeli bombings in Lebanon have affected thousands of children.)

Save the Children, one of the few organizations working in Gaza, has been unable to deliver aid to the region for over seven weeks. Before the blockade, the organization reached around 15,000 children in need, providing over 1,000 food parcels, 600 hygiene kits, psychosocial support, recreational activities and case management. But now, 5,000 food parcels, 725 hygiene kits and other aid supplies meant for families in the north have been redirected to southern Gaza, where access remains slightly more feasible.

Health services have also collapsed, with medical supplies running dangerously low. Despite efforts to vaccinate children against polio, 10,000 children in northern Gaza missed the recent immunization campaign. Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of only two partially operational medical facilities in the governorate, continues to face attacks and shortages of essential supplies.

The humanitarian crisis in northern Gaza is growing more severe by the day. The area, which includes cities like Jabalia, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, has been almost completely cut off from vital supplies such as food, water and medicine.

Many families remain trapped in the region, unable to flee due to various constraints, including elderly or disabled relatives. Parents like Ruba, a mother of two from northern Gaza, have described the situation as unbearable.

“I am trapped with my children under relentless bombs, rockets, and bullets, with nowhere to run. My mother is paralyzed, and I cannot leave her behind. My brother has been killed, my husband was taken, and I don’t know if he’s alive. Our home was destroyed over our heads, and we survived by a miracle,” she said.

“With no food, no clean water and constant fear, both my children have developed rashes and my daughter is passing blood, but there is no medicine, no help and absolutely nothing I can do. They cry and ask me why we can’t just leave, why their father isn’t with us, why we can’t go back to a normal life.”

International community called upon to intervene in Gaza for the sake of hundreds of thousands of children

In line with this, Jeremy Stoner, the Regional Director of Save the Children, called on the international community to intervene and ensure humanitarian access and a ceasefire to prevent further suffering and death, particularly among children.

“The situation in northern Gaza is not fit for human survival and yet we know there are about 130,000 children under 10 trapped in those conditions, not to mention the thousands of older children and their families. The war in Gaza is a war on children,” said Stoner. “There is no plainer way to illustrate this than to look at the people who make up the death figures — over four in every 10 people verified killed in Gaza are children. Of these children, most are five- to nine-year-olds. These are children who should be learning to read and ride bikes. They should not be ending up in mortuaries.”

“Humanitarian aid to Gaza has hit an all-time low. Safe humanitarian access must be granted immediately to allow food, water, winter supplies and medical assistance to reach those who are trapped in the death zone in the north,” he continued. “The international community must step up and make sure that happens, in line with their obligations. Without access and a ceasefire, we are condemning children to perish in hell on earth.”

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