https://arab.news/5xvup
- UN Human Rights Office has said nearly 70 percent of fatalities it had verified in Gaza were women and children
- Over a million children live in makeshift tents, many families have been displaced over 15 months, UNICEF says
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan鈥檚 Permanent Representative to the UN, Munir Akram, has demanded 鈥渟trict accountability鈥� for Israeli crimes against Gaza鈥檚 children, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Friday.
UN aid chief Tom Fletcher briefed the UN Security Council meeting on Thursday via video from Stockholm and bluntly assessing the past 15 months of war in Gaza said: 鈥淐hildren have been killed, starved, and frozen to death 鈥� They have been maimed, orphaned, separated from their family. Conservative estimates indicate that over 17,000 children are without their families in Gaza. A generation has been traumatized.鈥�
The continued lack of basic shelter combined with winter temperatures pose serious threats to children. With more than a million children living in makeshift tents, and with many families displaced over the past 15 months, children face extreme risks, UNICEF has said. The UN Human Rights Office has said nearly 70 percent of fatalities it had verified in Gaza were women and children.
鈥淗einous crimes have been committed in this brutal [Israel-Hamas] war, particularly against children in violation of international humanitarian law, the Geneva Conventions, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the Convention on Genocide,鈥� Akram said at the briefing to the UN Security Council this week.
鈥淭here must be accountability for these crimes. This is essential to restore international legitimacy. We must try to ensure that such a brutal slaughter of children never happens again.鈥�
Palestinian health authorities say Israel鈥檚 military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 people, with another 10,000 believed to be dead and uncounted under the rubble. A United Nations damage assessment released this month showed that clearing over 50 million tons of rubble left in the aftermath of Israel鈥檚 bombardment could take 21 years.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal to halt fighting in Gaza and exchange Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners on Jan. 15, opening the way to a possible end to a 15-month war that has upended the Middle East.