Gaza's children live ‘endless nightmare' amid Israeli assault: UN agency

Gaza's children live an “endless nightmare” amid Israel's deadly offensive on the seaside enclave, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.

“Bombardments, forced displacement, lack of food and water and no access to education are traumatizing an entire generation,” it added in a statement.

The UN agency said its psychosocial support teams continue working “to give relief and hope to children in the Gaza Strip.”

Last week, two children were reported to have died due to malnutrition in hospitals in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip, according to UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 36,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala