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\u201cThe pain is indescribable\u201d on the anniversary of the \u201cabhorrent\u201d attacks,\u00a0said UN relief chief Tom Fletcher.<\/p>\n
\u201cI renew my call for the unconditional, immediate release of all the hostages \u2013 and until then, they must be treated humanely,\u201d he continued. \u201cCivilians everywhere have to be protected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Fletcher underscored the fact that since 7 October 2023, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and \u201chundreds of thousands endure starvation and displacement\u201d.<\/p>\n
Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of the UN aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, said that Gazans have lived through \u201ctwo long years of destruction, displacement, bombardment, fear, death and hunger\u201d. In a statement\u00a0posted on X, he again called for the release of all hostages and Palestinian detainees, an immediate ceasefire and for the unfettered delivery of humanitarian supplies at scale, including through UNRWA.<\/p>\n
He also urged accountability for atrocities committed on and after 7 October 2023, saying there was \u201cno other way out of this abyss and mayhem\u201d.<\/p>\n
More than 1,250 Israelis and foreign nationals were killed in the terror attacks by Hamas and other armed groups on 7 October 2023 and more than 250 others\u00a0were taken hostage.<\/p>\n
More than 66,000 Palestinians have subsequently been killed in the war in Gaza, according to local health authorities.<\/p>\n
Amid ongoing violence and airstrikes, UN humanitarian and health officials said on Tuesday that children are paying the heaviest price, with tens of thousands killed, maimed or severely malnourished, while Gaza\u2019s hospitals and clinics edge towards total collapse.<\/p>\n
Speaking in Geneva on Tuesday, Ricardo Pires from the United Nations Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) maintained that Israel\u2019s \u201cdisproportionate response\u201d had left children suffering \u201cin their bodies and minds for way too long\u201d. He told reporters that 61,000 children have reportedly been killed or maimed since October 2023 \u2013 one child every 17 minutes<\/strong> \u2013 and that many have been traumatised, orphaned and displaced multiple times, \u201can unacceptable, staggering figure\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve been exposed to disease and violence on a scale unprecedented for Gaza,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe\u2019ve been denied permission to bring incubators and ventilators to children from the north. They desperately need that to survive. We\u2019re talking about children sharing oxygen masks in order to stay alive.\u201d<\/p>\n UNICEF says that one in five babies in Gaza is now born prematurely, often to mothers weakened by hunger and stress.<\/p>\n Referring to the peace plan put forward by US President Donald Trump, which has been the object of negotiations in Egypt for a second day, Mr. Pires welcomed \u201cthe plans by the US Government which bring a glimpse of hope to the region and to civilians and children in Gaza, that a better future is ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n His words echoed those of UN Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres who, in a statement on Monday, said that the recent proposal by the US President \u201cpresents an opportunity to that must be seized to bring this tragic conflict to an end\u201d.<\/p>\n The opportunity must not be lost, the UN chief stressed. \u201cAfter two years of trauma, we must choose hope \u2013 now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only 14 of Gaza\u2019s 36 hospitals are still partially operating \u2013 none in northern Gaza \u2013 and just 62 primary health-care centres remain partly functional, compared with a pre-war total of 176.<\/p>\n WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that official figures confirm 400 malnutrition-related deaths since January 2025, including 101 children, 80 of them under five. Over 10,000 children have been diagnosed with acute malnutrition in the past two months, and about 2,400 severely malnourished children are at risk of starvation.<\/p>\nHospitals on the brink<\/strong><\/h2>\n