UNICEF: Evacuating half a million children from Gaza is “one hell after another,” camps are not prepared to receive them

GAZA, Sept. 16 (YPA) – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned, on Tuesday, of the danger of expecting hundreds of thousands of children to leave Gaza City for the southern part of the Strip, describing this as inhumane, given the severe overcrowding and poorly equipped camps for the displaced.

“It is inhumane to expect half a million children, who have lived through more than 700 days of conflict filled with violence and trauma, to flee from one hell to another,” UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram said in a video press conference from Al-Mawasi camp.

Ingram added that civilians in Gaza are stuck between two bitter choices: “Either they remain under constant threat, or they are displaced to places they know are also unsafe,” noting that children have been killed while trying to fetch water in Al-Mawasi camp.

She noted that this week she saw large numbers of families leaving via the main road outside Gaza City in search of temporary refuge, a scene she described as tragic..

Ingram recounted her meeting with a mother named Israa, who was walking with her five hungry and thirsty children, including two barefoot children. She said that they were going without a clear destination, walking towards the unknown, clinging to the faint hope of finding a safe place.