Unicef criticizes “hypocrisy” in the Gaza Strip
Published: Tuesday, Dec 19th 2023, 13:10
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On his return from the Gaza Strip, the spokesman for the UN children's charity Unicef, James Elder, described the conditions there as catastrophic. A spokeswoman for the World Health Organization (WHO) described it as unconscionable that the world continues to allow such devastating conditions.
Four out of five minors do not have enough to eat, Elder said in Geneva on Tuesday. Diarrheal diseases are spreading among the youngest children. He was furious that injured children were dying and that parents of seriously ill children only had "hope and dirty water", said Elder.
Israeli forces had promised to spare civilians, but the reality was different. "I am angry that hypocrisy is crushing empathy," he said.
A 13-year-old girl lost her parents and two brothers in the destruction of the house and survived with an amputated leg, but then died in a grenade attack on the Nasser Hospital, Elder reported. The girl, Dina, had not let the loss of her family get her down and had made plans for the future before the grenade hit. She wanted to become a lawyer.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only eight out of 36 hospitals are still functioning properly. Staff can barely move, even in the intensive care units, because there are patients everywhere on the floor. Even those in severe pain were not the first to ask for painkillers, but for water and food. "It's unconscionable that the world is allowing this to continue," said spokeswoman Margaret Harris.
©Keystone/SDA
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