Although this is the official figure released by authorities in the area, we estimate that “the actual number of child deaths is significantly higher given current conditions in Gaza,” the non-governmental organization stated in its report on X.
For its part, the NGO Save the Children warned in a statement that about 15,000 children will be born in this coastal enclave from October 7 to the end of the year.
They are all at serious risk due to the escalation of violence and critical medical, water and food supplies, he said.
Save the Children said about 66,000 babies will be born in Gaza in 2023, where about 5,500 women will give birth next month alone.
Drinking water is scarce, food and medicine are becoming scarce and pregnant or breastfeeding women are having difficulty finding food, he warned.
In this sense, Jason Lee, director of the organization in the Palestinian territories, denounced that “babies are born in a nightmare.”
Pregnant women give birth without medical assistance and premature babies die in incubators, criticized Lee, who called for the protection of hospitals and the urgent use of humanitarian aid.
In Gaza, “children are being denied their right to life and health (…) Protecting hospitals and providing life-saving medical supplies is a duty under the laws of war,” Adele Khodr, regional director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, said last week.
The minors there, especially in the north, are on the brink because they have nowhere to go and are in great danger, which is why we are calling for the attacks on health facilities to stop immediately, he emphasized.
jf/rob