Last year I wrote in the Mirror about the desperate need for a ceasefire to save Gaza's children.
At that time, after less than just one month of , Palestinians had run out of time for funerals, such was the death toll piling up. There had already been so much death and destruction visited upon Gaza that it was clear a ceasefire needed to be immediate. Now 12 months since the conflict began, the international community has failed in this and failed the children of Gaza.
Conservative estimates put the death toll at over 40,000. Over 95,000 are injured and 1.9 million people, a harrowing 90 per cent of the population have been forcibly displaced, some multiple times. Innocent children have not been spared the brunt of Israel's offensive. Over 16,000 children have already been killed during the conflict, and they have nowhere to seek safety. So-called safe zones where the IDF ordered them to evacuate too have later been bombed, killing more. There are literally no safe places anymore.
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Now Palestinian children are displaced and homeless, exposed to the elements and disease as they are forced to live in makeshift shelters, and do not have consistent access to food, water or medical supplies. A mother in Gaza, Reem who had to flee and take shelter in a school, told our colleagues: "The children are always very ill; I run them to the hospitals frequently due to gastroenteritis, lice, and malnutrition. The past two months were among the hardest we have ever experienced. In addition to the daily struggle with the bathrooms—unfortunately, they were shared and lacked cleanliness.”
The damage the Israeli bombardment has done to Gaza's children is insurmountable. Not only have they robbed them of their childhood, killing thousands and putting survivors through unimaginable trauma, but they have robbed them of their future too. 90 per cent of Gaza's schools have been destroyed, and the remainder now serve as makeshift shelters.
The destruction of Gaza’s schools and universities will deprive them of a full education, and the severe level of malnutrition and disease could lead to health issues that last a lifetime amongst Palestinian children. I was devastated to hear that after 25 years since its last reported case, polio has once again reared its ugly head in Gaza, after its health infrastructure was devastated by the Israeli military. Only 12 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are able to function and of those none have been spared damage, while 84 per cent of all Gazan healthcare facilities have been reduced to rubble.
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Yet another terrible burden has been placed upon Gaza's children and yet another reason why a ceasefire is vital. A ceasefire will allow aid agencies to scale up life-saving polio vaccinations to 640,000 children and aid delivery across the population.
A ceasefire now will allow ourselves and other aid agencies to properly carry out our work to prevent another catastrophe. Our team on the ground has carried out life-saving work since day one, in the face of lethal bombings, and their heroism inspires us all. For months now, we've been warning that the risk of famine is high. Children have been dying from starvation and one million people in Gaza, half the population, are suffering from severe hunger.
Without aid, the hunger crisis in Gaza will become a famine, exacerbating the already high levels of malnutrition and disease. But so far, the international community is failing Gaza’s children, even after witnessing an entire year of Israel's horrific assault.
As one of my colleagues in Gaza puts it: "The feeling of betrayal and being let down is taking over everyone in Gaza. We are exhausted and praying that the world will end this nightmare, but still there is no end in sight. Our destruction will go on for another round. We have to keep suffering and living this pain."
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