{"id":298440,"date":"2025-07-14T12:01:31","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T11:01:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=298440"},"modified":"2025-07-13T09:13:33","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T08:13:33","slug":"unicef-voices-deep-dismay-over-the-unconscionable-killing-of-families-lining-up-for-food-aid-in-gaza","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2025\/07\/unicef-voices-deep-dismay-over-the-unconscionable-killing-of-families-lining-up-for-food-aid-in-gaza\/","title":{"rendered":"UNICEF Voices Deep Dismay over the \u2018Unconscionable\u2019 Killing of Families Lining Up for Food Aid in Gaza"},"content":{"rendered":"

12 Jul 2025\u00a0<\/em>– The head of the UN Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) has voiced deep dismay over the \u201cunconscionable\u201d killing of children during an aid distribution in the central Gaza Strip on Thursday

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\"People<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a9 UNICEF\/Eyad El Baba | People gather in the vicinity of a food distribution by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF).<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
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Catherine Russell said she was appalled by the reported killing of 15 Palestinians, including nine children and four women, who were waiting in line for nutritional supplements provided by Project Hope, a UNICEF<\/a> partner organization.<\/div>\n

\u2018Mothers seeking a lifeline\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

\u201cThe killing of families trying to access life-saving aid is unconscionable,\u201d she said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThese were mothers seeking a lifeline for their children after months of hunger and desperation<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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They included Donia, whose one-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed. She reported that the boy had spoken his first words to her just hours earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonia now lies in a hospital bed, critically injured by the blast, clutching Mohammed\u2019s tiny shoe,\u201d said Ms. Russell.\u00a0 \u201cNo parent should have to\u202fface such tragedy<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

A \u2018cruel reality\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n

For the UNICEF chief, \u201cthis is the cruel reality confronting many in Gaza today after months of insufficient aid being allowed into the territory, and parties to the conflict failing to uphold basic responsibilities to protect civilians.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

She explained that \u201cthe lack of aid means children are facing starvation while the risk of famine grows<\/strong>,\u201d warning that \u201cthe number of malnourished children will continue to rise until life-saving aid and services are resumed at full scale.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cInternational law is clear: all parties to the conflict have an obligation to protect civilians and ensure the safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call on Israel to urgently review its rules of engagement to ensure full compliance with international humanitarian law, notably the protection of civilians including children, and to conduct a thorough and independent investigation of this incident and all allegations of violations.\u201d<\/p>\n

UN condemns killings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The UN yet again condemned the killing of civilians in Gaza, Spokesperson St\u00e9phane Dujarric told <\/a>journalists in New York.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the UN humanitarian affairs office OCHA<\/a> \u201cstresses that parties are bound by international humanitarian law to prevent such excessive death and injury of civilians in the midst of war,\u201d\u202fhe added.<\/p>\n

OCHA reported that another strike on Thursday [10 July 2025]<\/em> reportedly hit the office of a humanitarian partner in Gaza City. Three staff there were killed.<\/p>\n

Fuel running out<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mr. Dujarric also updated journalists on the dire fuel situation in Gaza, which impacts both the population and humanitarians.<\/p>\n

A UN team managed to bring roughly 75,000 litres of fuel from Israel into the beleaguered enclave on Wednesday, marking the first such provision in 130 days.<\/p>\n

He warned, however, that fuel is still running out and services will shut down if greater volumes do not enter immediately.<\/p>\n

Water services at risk<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cWe and our humanitarian partners need hundreds of thousands of litres of fuel each day to keep essential lifesaving and life-sustaining operations going<\/strong>, meaning the amount entered yesterday isn\u2019t sufficient to cover even one day of energy requirements,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

One aid partner reported that fuel shortages could soon cut off supplies of clean drinking water to about 44,000 children, he added, which would further increase the risk of cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery and other waterborne illnesses.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, UN partners providing education services said that between October 2023 and this June, 626 temporary learning spaces have been established in Gaza, with 240,000 students enrolled, roughly half of them girls.<\/p>\n

However, only 299 spaces are currently operational<\/strong> due to the ongoing displacement orders, funding shortfalls and other challenges.<\/p>\n

Aid workers also going hungry<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Humanitarian partners in Gaza \u2013 who include first responders, health workers, and aid workers \u2013 \u201ccontinue to deliver food and other assistance under intolerable conditions, and they themselves are facing hunger,\u201d said Mr. Dujarric.<\/p>\n

\u201cA number of our own colleagues are also facing hunger. They also face water scarcity and threats to their personal safety, just like everyone else in Gaza,\u201d<\/strong> he added.<\/p>\n

The Spokesperson reiterated the UN\u2019s long-standing message that \u201cthis catastrophic situation must end.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He stressed that \u201ca ceasefire is not only urgent, it is long overdue,\u201d while also calling for the unconditional and immediate release of all hostages.<\/p>\n

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\u00a9 UNFPA Palestine | Some Palestinians have been forced to flee their homes in the West Bank.<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

West Bank operations<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Mr. Dujarric also addressed the situation in the West Bank, where humanitarians report and continue to warn of the intensification of Israeli operations in the northern areas.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThese operations are causing massive destruction, driving further humanitarian needs<\/strong> and dampening hopes of thousands of displaced families that they will eventually be able to go back home,\u201d<\/strong> he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMeanwhile, attacks, harassment and intimidation by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have become a daily reality.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He cited a settler attack on 3 July that led to the displacement of the Mu\u2019arrajat East Bedouin community in the central West Bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the ninth community to be fully displaced <\/strong>in the Ramallah and Jericho areas since January 2023 following the recurrent attacks by Israeli settlers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Go to Original – human-wrongs-watch.net<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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12 Jul 2025\u00a0– The head of the UN Children\u2019s Fund has voiced deep dismay over the \u201cunconscionable\u201d killing of children during an aid distribution in the central Gaza Strip on Thu, 10 Jul 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":113850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[1854,1199,2242,87,3505,865,1966,88,715,1062,427,880,539,124,70,965],"class_list":["post-298440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-united-nations","tag-crimes-against-humanity","tag-ethnic-cleansing","tag-famine","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-humanitarian-foundation-ghf","tag-genocide","tag-hunger","tag-israel","tag-massacre","tag-mercenaries","tag-palestine","tag-state-terrorism","tag-unicef","tag-united-nations","tag-usa","tag-war-crimes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298440"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":298443,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298440\/revisions\/298443"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}