The United Nations warned that “childhood cannot survive” in Gaza as Israel prepares a major ground push into Gaza City, a metropolis already hollowed by famine, bombardment and despair.
UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram, fresh from nine days inside the enclave, described a place where survival itself is collapsing.
“The unthinkable is not looming – it is already here,” she said. “Malnutrition and famine are weakening children’s bodies, displacement has robbed 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.”
Israel has mobilized thousands of reservists and is signaling its intent to capture Gaza’s largest urban center.
Nearly one million people remain trapped there, most of them displaced several times, and aid groups warn that an intensified offensive would push civilians beyond the edge of survival.
