UNICEF: Palestinian Child Toll Nearly Double 2005
| quote: | UNICEF: Palestinian Child Toll Nearly Double 2005
In the Occupied Territories, the United Nations Children's Fund – UNICEF -- says the number of Palestinian children killed this year is nearly double the number for all of 2005. Thirtreen-year-old Suhaib Kadiah became the 92nd Palestinian child this year Thursday when she was shot during an Israeli attack on Gaza. Overall, Israel has killed more than eight hundred Palestinian children since the beginning of the second intifada six years ago. |
Source: Democracy Now
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Escalating death toll for children in Gaza
By Sabine Dolan
NEW YORK, USA, 27 July 2006 – While clashes between Israel and Hezbollah intensify in Lebanon, fighting continues on a second front in Gaza in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). And the crisis is taking a heavy toll on children.
“In July alone, there were 35 children killed in Gaza, which is one of the highest numbers for a month over the last six years,” says UNICEF Special Representative in oPt, Dan Rohrmann.
According to Mr. Rohrmann, 63 children have died so far this year – a 30 per cent increase of the total figure of 2005. Some 100 children have also been injured.
Children, he says, are living in a “climate of extraordinary insecurity and fear.”
“UNICEF at the moment is stepping up its activities in health, water and sanitation, education, child protection and adolescents,” says Mr. Rohrmann.
The agency is also ensuring that children have the necessary vaccines and that hospitals as well as health clinics have essential drugs and equipment.
“Children of all ages are afraid.” says UNICEF oPt Communication Officer Monica Awad. “They have nightmares. Parents in Gaza tell us that children won’t let go of their mothers. They are afraid to get out of the houses.”
The situation for civilians
The United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland visited Gaza on Tuesday 25 July and Haifa in Israel on Wednesday 26 July to assess the damage and destruction caused by both Israeli forces and Hezbollah rockets.
Mr. Egeland said he was shocked by the targeting of civilian infrastructure, including Gaza's only power plant.
“This is a heart breaking experience,” said the UN’s top humanitarian official, who added there were “too many wounded children, too many civilian houses destroyed.”
Mr. Egeland described Israel's month-long military activities in Gaza as a "disproportionate use of force." However he again emphasized that all sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were guilty of violating humanitarian law.
Ms. Awad, who visited bombed areas in Nablus in the West Bank where clashes have also broke out, says the situation for civilians remains very difficult. Children and their families are confined to their homes without clean water or electricity.
Delivering the basics
Meanwhile UNICEF’s emergency efforts on the ground are focusing on health, nutrition, safe water and child protection and include:
* the distribution of five generators to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society and the Ministry of Health Primary Health Care clinics to ensure that vaccines are kept at appropriate temperatures.
* the procurement of $1.2 million in emergency drugs and disposables for over 400 health clinics.
* the distribution of 566 family water kits (each serving 10 families) to affected communities.
* 13 large water tanks (containing 5,000 liters each) will be provided to Coastal Municipalities Water Utility and installed on trucks.
* 112 UNICEF indoor recreational kits have been distributed to families in the northern cities of Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun.
* the pre-positioning with UNICEF partners of 650 baby hygiene kits along with 300 family hygiene kits ready to be distributed, as well as 888 recreational and school-in-a-box kits and 45 sport equipment kits.
In addition, UNICEF is supporting five child protection teams that reach approximately 3,000 children and 2,000 caregivers each month. The agency is also supporting summer festivals enabling over 15,000 children to escape their ordeal and engage with their peers in sports, art and cultural activities.
“With the limelight of the international media having shifted to Lebanon, the Gaza humanitarian crisis is on the verge of being forgotten,” says Mr. Rohrmann. “But I can say that for the 800,000 children in Gaza the humanitarian crisis is not forgotten but indeed a hard reality.” |
Source: UNICEF
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Violence takes heavy toll on Israeli and Palestinian children
By Sabine Dolan
NEW YORK, USA, 28 July 2006 – More than two weeks into the conflict, the ongoing violence between Israel and Hezbollah is taking a heavy toll on children living in the region. While the number of civilian casualties continues to rise, the psychological trauma inflicted on children is difficult to measure.
Lebanese children have been bearing the brunt of the armed hostilities, but children in both Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have also been seriously affected.
“Right now we are in an acute crisis, where about 700,000 people have left their homes in both the north and south of Israel. If you calculate the number of children, it’s just below 50 per cent,” says Dr. Ruth Pat-Horenczyk, Director of Child and Adolescent Clinical Services at the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma at the Herzog Hospital in west Jerusalem.
According to Dr. Pat-Horenczyk, in 25 percent of cases, Israeli children are sent on their own to stay with friends or family in other parts of the country, while their parents stay behind – a situation which often exacerbates trauma for everyone.
“Initial symptoms are fear, emotional distress and anxiety, in addition to lots of practical problems such as loss of income, loss of community, lack of access to food, medication, health and supplies,” explains Dr. Pat-Horenczyk.
[]bFor Palestinian children living in Gaza and the West Bank, the situation is grim.
“This hightened level of violence is making children live in a context of constant fear and insecurity – this at a time when children should be enjoying their summer break,” says UNICEF Communication Officer in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) Monica Awad.
The high number of casualties among Palestinian children has been devastating.[/b]
In July alone the number of child casualties in the occupied Palestinian territory has jumped to 37, with 34 children killed in Gaza and 3 in the West Bank.
More than one hundred children have been injured.
UNICEF Special Representative in oPt Dan Rohrmann says the death toll suffered so far this year represents more than a 30 per cent increase from the total figure of 2005.
To address the situation UNICEF is stepping up its activities in health, water and sanitation, and education, as well as child protection and adolescence. But psychological support for children is also a priority.
“One of the most important projects we have at the moment are the psychosocial teams which offer counselling to both parents and children, who are in acute distress. At the moment we are reaching something like 5,000 children and care givers, but we are trying to expand this to reach an additional 10,000,” says Mr. Rohrmann.
While UNICEF does not operate a country programme in Israel, it shares the same concerns for children everywhere. The agency’s emphasis on involving parents in its psychosocial projects, for example, is also shared by Dr. Pat-Horenczyk and her work.
“The role of parents is crucial when we talk about children. And if the parents are under severe stress, that influences the children even more than the reality. The younger the children, the more vulnerable they are,” says Dr. Pat-Horenczyk.
As part of its psychosocial support work, UNICEF oPt is also supporting summer festivals, enabling over 15,000 children to escape their ordeal and engage with their peers in sports, art and cultural activities.
“Children’s right to protection,” says Ms. Awad, “is a top priority at a time where we are witnessing a disturbing number of child deaths and injuries.” |
Source: UNICEF
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