“The pain is indescribable” on the anniversary of the “heinous” attacks, said UN relief chief Tom Fletcher.
“I renew my call for the immediate unconditional release of all hostages – and until then, they must be treated humanely,” he continued. “Civilians everywhere must be protected.”
Mr. Fletcher highlighted the fact that since October 7, 2023, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and “hundreds of thousands are enduring starvation and displacement.”
Calls for ceasefire and accountability
Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the United Nations aid agency for the Palestinians, Unrwasaid the Gazans experienced “two long years of destruction, displacement, bombardment, fear, death and hunger.” In a statement Published on xHe again called for the release of all Palestinian hostages and detainees, an immediate ceasefire and the unhindered delivery of large-scale humanitarian supplies, including through UNRWA.
He also urged accountability for atrocities committed on and after October 7, 2023, saying there was “no other way out of this abyss and chaos.”
October 7 terror
More than 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in terrorist attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on October 7, 2023, and more than 250 others were taken hostage.
More than 66,000 Palestinians were subsequently killed in the Gaza war, according to local health authorities.
Amid the violence and airstrikes, United Nations humanitarian and health officials said Tuesday that children were paying the heaviest price, with tens of thousands killed, maimed or severely malnourished, while Gaza’s hospitals and clinics headed toward total collapse.
Unacceptable child deaths: UNICEF
Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, Ricardo Pires of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) argued that Israel’s “disproportionate response” had left children suffering “in body and mind for too long.” He told reporters that 61,000 children have been killed or mutilated since October 2023 – one child every 17 minutes – and that many have been traumatized, orphaned and displaced multiple times, “an unacceptable and staggering figure.”
“They were exposed to disease and violence on a scale unprecedented for Gaza,” he continued. “We were denied permission to bring incubators and ventilators to children in the north. They desperately need to survive. We’re talking about kids sharing oxygen masks to stay alive.”
UNICEF says one in five babies in Gaza are now born prematurely, often to mothers weakened by hunger and stress.
Referring to the peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump, which was the subject of negotiations in Egypt for a second day, Pires welcomed “the US government’s plans that provide a glimpse of hope to the region and to civilians and children in Gaza, that a better future is ahead.”
His words echoed those of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres who, in a statement Monday, said the US president’s recent proposal “presents an opportunity that must be seized to end this tragic conflict.”
The opportunity must not be lost, the UN chief stressed. “After two years of trauma, we must choose hope – now,” he said.
Hospitals on the edge
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 14 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are still partially operational – none in northern Gaza – and only 62 primary health care centers remain partially functional, compared to a pre-war total of 176.
WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said official figures confirmed 400 malnutrition-related deaths since January 2025, including 101 children, 80 of whom were under the age of five. More than 10,000 children have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition in the past two months, and around 2,400 severely malnourished children are at risk of starvation.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, the WHO spokesperson warned that the real toll is likely much higher, as many families in crowded shelters cannot reach clinics or hospitals. “ The famine that was once confined to Gaza City is now spreading south as people flee renewed fighting,” he explained.
Help always blocked and unpredictable
From the United Nations Coordination Office (Osha), spokesperson Jens Laerke added that since October 2023, more than 8,000 missions inside Gaza have required Israeli approval and almost half had been denied, delayed or obstructed. “Any aid that comes in is positive,” he said, “but there has not been a single day where supplies have reached the required levels.”
Publicado anteriormente en Almouwatin.
