UNICEF spokesman Kazem Abu Khalaf said on Sunday that children in the Gaza Strip are the most affected group by what is happening there, and they are in dire need of urgent psychological and educational support, according to “WAFA” news agency.
He explained that “the current situation in the Gaza Strip requires an urgent response to help children who are suffering from loss of education and the severe psychological damage they are exposed to,” noting that “the number of children who were martyred is at least 14,000, and this is the lowest estimate, in addition to thousands of injured.”
According to the organization’s official website, Abu Khalaf said that all children in the Gaza Strip “need psychological support, as at least 625,000 children have lost a year of school since the war on the Strip began last October, and some children have had their limbs amputated and need to leave the Strip to receive treatment,” stressing that there are many children suffering from fear and anxiety due to the war.
He poin
ted out that UNICEF has worked during the past period with its partners in the Gaza Strip to establish “temporary spaces for education”, which are large tents in the middle of the displaced people’s gatherings, but due to the continuous Israeli targeting of these areas, education attempts have faltered. He added that UNICEF and its humanitarian partners are trying to provide what services they can under the current circumstances, and are also providing food aid and fuel to hospitals, noting that coordination is underway with the World Health Organization to evacuate 170 people who need treatment abroad.
Source : National news agency – Lebanon