"UNICEF Urges Immediate Action to Protect Children in Crisis-Ridden Gaza"

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell addressed the UN Security Council, highlighting the worsening situation for children in Gaza and calling for urgent action. She expressed gratitude for the adoption of Resolution 2712, which demands special protection for children in the conflict and calls for extended humanitarian pauses and corridors in Gaza. Russell emphasized the need to end the war and the killing and maiming of children, while also drawing attention to the plight of children in Israel and the West Bank. She described the dire conditions in Gaza, including the high number of child casualties, displacement, malnutrition, lack of healthcare, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the long-lasting threat of explosive remnants of war. Russell called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, respect for international law, and safe and unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza.