Children advocacy group welcomes UN adding Israel to child harm blacklist
Alexandra Saieh from Save the Children says it is “absolutely shameful” that the international community and its members have not done enough to bring the war to an end.
“We welcome this decision … it’s one step [putting Israel on the blacklist] in holding the perpetrators to account … and alongside Israel, we’re also calling on the Qassam Brigades and Islamic Jihad to be listed for the great violations that they have committed against children. No one should be above the law,” she told Al Jazeera.
Saieh said the eight-month-long war in Gaza had been “absolutely catastrophic” for children.
“What we’ve seen is children being killed at an unprecedented rate. We’ve seen children maimed. We’ve also seen denial of humanitarian assistance, which has led to starvation and deaths due to extreme malnutrition, dehydration and disease,” she added.
“Remember, there are still thousands of children who are also trapped under the rubble, many of whom you know have not been able to be recovered.”
Key stats: More than 3,000 children at risk of dying due to malnutrition
The Gaza Media Office has published a comprehensive list of statistics highlighting the devastation in Gaza amid the ongoing war.
Here is a summary of numbers related to the healthcare situation in the coastal enclave:
- 3,500 children are at risk of death due to malnutrition and lack of food.
- 11,000 people injured need to travel for treatment abroad.
- 1,477,748 people are infected with infectious diseases due to displacement.
- 71,338 cases of viral hepatitis infection as a result of being displaced.
- 60,000 pregnant women are at risk due to lack of access to healthcare.
- 350,000 chronic patients are at risk due to preventing the introduction of medications.
Here is another list of numbers, provided by the Gaza Media Office, related to infrastructure damage in Gaza since Israel’s war on the coastal enclave began eight months ago:
- 110 schools and universities completely destroyed.
- 604 mosques completely destroyed.
- 3 churches targeted and destroyed.
- 138,300 housing units were completely destroyed.
- 453,000 housing units partially destroyed.
- 33 hospitals taken out of service.
And there are still genocide deniers? What else does it take to show intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.
Not listed in the stats above is the destruction of agricultural land, fishing boats, tree groves, water wells
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2024/gaza-israel-agriculture-food-fisheries/
As well as other infrastructure, historical buildings, archeological sites, archives, libraries, civic registries.
https://jacobin.com/2024/03/israel-gaza-war-cultural-heritage
