At least 200 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since Tuesday as a result of Israeli strikes, Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF official in Gaza, said.
“Since the resumption of heavy shelling, from the morning of March 18 until now, more than 200 children have been killed,” Bollen told Al Jazeera broadcaster on Thursday.
She added that thousands of children were seriously injured, and hospitals in the Gaza Strip are unable to cope with the load due to the fighting in recent days. Bollen noted that the food blockade of the Gaza Strip has a heavy impact on its residents, who have lost access to even basic necessities.
The UNICEF official said that there are no safe places left in the Gaza Strip even for emergency services.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) resumed strikes against the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said that the attacks had resumed in response to Hamas’ refusal to accept the US plan to extend the ceasefire regime and continue the release of hostages. According to the latest data from Gaza’s health ministry, the death toll from the Israeli strikes on the enclave exceeded 590.
