The UN children's organization UNICEF warned that "childhood cannot survive" in Gaza City, as Israel prepares to capture the metropolis amid its war with Palestinian militant organization Hamas.
"The world is sounding the alarm about what an intensified military offensive in Gaza City could bring – a catastrophe for the almost 1 million people who remain there," UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram said in a Thursday briefing.
"This unthinkable is not looming – it is already here. The escalation is underway," Ingram said, as she detailed the situation she encountered in the Gaza Strip over the previous nine days.
"Malnutrition and famine are weakening children's bodies as displacement strips them of shelter and care, and bombardments threaten their every move. This is what famine in a war zone looks like and it was everywhere I looked in Gaza City," Ingram said.
The UNICEF official said the situation in the Palestinian territory was "not accidental. It is the direct consequence of choices that have turned Gaza City and indeed the entire Strip into a place where people's lives are under attack, from every angle, every day."
