WASHINGTON: The UN children’s agency said on Sunday over 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza in Israel’s offensive, adding many kids were suffering from severe malnutrition and did not “even have the energy to cry.”
“Thousands more have been injured or we can’t even determine where they are. They may be stuck under rubble ... We haven’t seen that rate of death among children in almost any other conflict in the world,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program on Sunday.
“I’ve been in wards of children who are suffering from severe anemia malnutrition, the whole ward is absolutely quiet. Because the children, the babies ... don’t even have the energy to cry.”
Russell said there were “very great bureaucratic challenges” moving trucks into Gaza for aid and assistance.
International criticism has mounted on Israel due to the death toll of the war, the starvation crisis in Gaza, and allegations of blocking aid deliveries into the enclave.
A UN expert said earlier this month that Israel was destroying Gaza’s food system as part of a broader “starvation campaign.” Israel rejected the accusation.
Israel’s military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has displaced nearly its entire 2.3 million-person population, caused a starvation crisis, flattened most of the enclave, and killed over 31,000 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry. It has also led to accusations of genocide being probed in the World Court.
Israel denies the genocide charges and says it is acting in self defense after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel from Hamas that killed some 1,200, according to Israeli tallies, and took scores of hostages.
One in three children under age 2 in northern Gaza is now acutely malnourished and famine is looming, the main UN agency operating in the Palestinian enclave said on Saturday.
UNICEF says over 13,000 children killed in Gaza in Israel offensive
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UNICEF says over 13,000 children killed in Gaza in Israel offensive
- “Thousands more have been injured or we can’t even determine where they are," Russell said
Syrian Democratic Forces withdraws from east of Aleppo
RIYADH: Syrian Democratic Forces have withdrawn from positions east of Aleppo, according to SDF head Mazloum Abdi.
He announced Friday that SDF will withdraw from east of Aleppo at 7 AM local time on Saturday and redeploy them to areas east of the Euphrates, citing calls from friendly countries and mediators.
Hours earlier, a U.S. military designation had visited Deir Hafer and met with SDF officials in an apparent attempt to tamp down tensions.
The U.S. has good relations with both sides and has urged calm. A spokesperson for the U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Shortly before Abdi’s announcement, interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa had announced issuance of a decree strengthening Kurdish rights.
A wave of displacement
Earlier in the day, hundreds of people carrying their belongings arrived in government-held areas in northern Syria ahead of the anticipated offensive by Syrian troops on territory held by Kurdish-led fighters.
Many of the civilians who fled were seen using side roads to reach government-held areas because the main highway was blocked at a checkpoint in the town of Deir Hafer controlled by the SDF.
The Syrian army said late Wednesday that civilians would be able to evacuate through the “humanitarian corridor” from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday and then extended the evacuation period another day, saying the SDF had stopped civilians from leaving.
There had been limited exchanges of fire between the two sides in the area before that.
Men, women and children arrived on the government side of the line in cars and pickup trucks that were packed with bags of clothes, mattresses and other belongings. They were met by local officials who directed them to shelters.
* with input from Reuters, AP
