UN warns of ‘explosion’ in number of child deaths in Gaza

GAZA, Feb. 20 (YPA) – The United Nations has warned that the alarming shortage of food and the rapid spread of diseases could lead to an “explosion” in the number of child deaths in the Gaza Strip.

After 20 weeks of Israel’s war on Gaza, United Nations agencies said that food and clean water have become “extremely rare” in the besieged Palestinian territory, with almost all young children suffering from infectious diseases.

Ted Chaiban, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, stated the” Gaza Strip is poised to witness an explosion in preventable child deaths which would compound the already unbearable level of child deaths in Gaza.”

At least 90% of children under the age of five in Gaza are affected by one or more infectious diseases, according to a report by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Food Programme (WFP).  70% of them have suffered from diarrhea in the past two weeks, representing a 23-fold increase compared to 2022.

E.M