On Sunday, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said more than 13,000 children have been killed in Gaza Strip as a result of Israel’s offensive. The children’s agency added that many kids are suffering from extreme malnutrition.
During an interview with CBS News, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell did not provide a source for the child fatality figure.
When questioned if Russell was referring to the agency’s calculation or was basing the figure on reporting from authorities in Hamas-governed Gaza, a UNICEF spokesperson pointed to a press statement by the U.N. children’s agency that attributed the figure to the health ministry of Gaza.
‘Thousands more have been injured’
“Thousands more have been injured or we can’t even determine where they are. They may be stuck under rubble … We haven’t seen that rate of death among children in almost any other conflict in the world,” said Russell, reported Reuters.
A March 14 infographic from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the U.N. humanitarian office, cites the Gaza government media office as saying that over 13,000 children and at least 9,000 females have been killed in Gaza Strip since October 7. U.N. agencies have depended on Gaza authorities for casualty information during the war.
On Israel, international criticism has increased due to the death toll of the battle, the starvation crisis in Gaza, and allegations of blocking aid deliveries into the enclave.
Earlier this month, a U.N. expert said that Israel was destroying the food system of Gaza as part of a broader “starvation campaign.” Israel rejected the accusation. As a result of Israel’s military assault on Gaza, its entire 2.3 million population is displaced.