The Gaza Strip is “the most dangerous place” in the world to be a child, according to the executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund.
“More than 5,300 Palestinian children have been reportedly killed in just 46 days … That’s over 115 a day, every day, for weeks and weeks,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a video on Wednesday while addressing the UN Security Council.
“Based on these figures, children account for 40% of the deaths in Gaza,” she added.
“This is unprecedented. In other words, the Gaza Strip is the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” Russell continued.
She also said UNICEF is receiving reports that “more than 1,200 children” remain under the rubble of bombed-out buildings or are otherwise unaccounted for.
The comments come a week after Russell’s visit to Gaza. In a statement following her visit, she described “grave violations” being committed against children, including “killing, maiming, abductions, attacks on schools and hospitals, and the denial of humanitarian access.”