New York - Occupied Territories: Europe and the Arabs - Agencies
UN aid workers said Gaza has become a "graveyard" for children, with thousands killed in Israeli bombing while many face severe shortages of basic items and trauma that will often last a lifetime.
United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths, who is visiting Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, spoke with families in Gaza by phone from East Jerusalem on Tuesday and said that what they have suffered since the start of the Israeli operation is beyond what can be described as devastating.
“When an eight-year-old tells you she doesn't want to die, it's hard not to feel helpless,” Griffiths wrote on his social media account, X, referring to his phone calls.

Hostage families 'live in agony'
On Monday, Griffiths met in Jerusalem with family members of more than 230 hostages - including 30 children - who have been held in Gaza since October 7.
The Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs said that these families have lived in agony over the past weeks, not knowing whether their loved ones are dead or still alive.
UN officials have repeatedly called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Children under the rubble
At the regular press conference of UN agencies in Geneva, James Alder, spokesman for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), said that more than 3,450 children in Gaza had been killed, according to the Ministry of Health. Alder was speaking via videoconference from the area.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that another 1,000 children were reported missing, who may have been trapped or died under the rubble awaiting rescue or recovery of their bodies.
Office spokesman Jens Larke said it was difficult to think of children buried under the rubble, given the very slim chances of getting them out.
Infant deaths due to dehydration
UNICEF spokesman James Alder emphasized that the threats to children go beyond bombs and mortar shells. He said that infant mortality due to drought poses an "increasing threat" in Gaza, where water production is estimated at five percent of the required amount, due to broken or damaged water desalination plants or lack of fuel.
He added that the effects endured by children will continue for decades to come, after the fighting stops, due to the horrific traumas resulting from the current situation.
Alder cited the example of the four-year-old daughter of a UNICEF staff member in Gaza who began self-harming due to daily stress and fear, while her mother told colleagues: “I don’t have the luxury of thinking about my children’s mental health, I just need to keep them alive.”
Alder reiterated the call, “on behalf of the 1.1 million children in Gaza living through this nightmare,” for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the opening of all access points for sustained humanitarian access.
For its part, the European Union warned that the escalation of Israeli settler terrorism in the West Bank; Which led to the loss of very large numbers of civilian lives, and forced Palestinians to leave their homes, the situation could spiral out of control at any moment, and cause untold suffering.
The European Union mission in the occupied Palestinian territories stressed, in a statement issued by it, that “urgent measures are needed,” and that “it is the duty of Israel (as an occupying power) to protect civilians in the West Bank from the violence of extremist settlers, through the intervention of the Israeli army.” And ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable, this is a legal obligation that must be fulfilled.”
The mission added that the settler attacks in the West Bank come "in conjunction with the already tragic situation in Gaza, which increases the risk of a dangerous escalation of the conflict, which must be avoided at all costs."