Newborns and mothers in Gaza are facing catastrophic conditions, Unicef spokesman James Elder said on Friday, as overwhelmed hospitals in the south face an influx of patients in the face of intensified Israeli attacks on Gaza city.
The forced mass displacement of Palestinians from the north has further strained Gaza's crumbling health sector, with hospitals struggling to support new mothers and their babies.
“The situation for mothers and newborns has never been worse. In six missions to Gaza, I have never seen it like this," he said, describing his visit to Al Nasser Hospital in the southern strip.
"New mothers and vulnerable newborns lying on the floor. Three premature babies share a single oxygen source – each child breathing for 20 minutes, before giving way to the next."
Israel's advance on Gaza city has forced hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to relocate to the south, despite dire and dangerous conditions.
Mr Elder described designated safe zones to where families are being ordered to move as "places of death". He said: “The question I am asked everywhere in Gaza city – from women, from the elderly and from children – is: ‘Where can I go that will be safe?' And the answer remains the same after almost two years: nowhere.
"Nowhere is safe in the Gaza Strip."
Gaza authorities last week accused the Israeli army of killing about 2,000 people in areas it had designated as safe and “humanitarian”, after forcing them to leave Gaza city, where it began an expanded ground offensive last month.
More than 400,000 Palestinians have left what was once the strip's most populous area, said Mr Elder, but tens of thousands of children remain as families face an impossible choice. Israel's eviction order has forced civilians to pay a hefty price to move to an area where safety is cannot be guaranteed.
Mr Elder recalled meeting children who have been "paralysed, burnt, or had limbs amputated following direct hits on tents housing displaced families". He said he also met "many children who had been shot by quadcopters".
"When the world adjusts and normalises this level of violence and deprivation, something is profoundly broken," he said.
As Israel's war on Gaza nears the end of its second year, the World Health Organisation estimates more than 10,000 children in the enclave have sustained “life-changing injuries”, including amputations, spinal cord damage, traumatic brain damage, major burns and facial scarring that will cause disfigurement.
At the same time, only 13 of Gaza's 36 hospitals remain partially functional, the WHO said, leaving the health system struggling to provide crucial recovery and rehabilitation for these children. Israel has been accused of deliberately targeting hospitals and healthcare workers in Gaza.
In a statement published on Friday, Mercy Corps described the situation in the strip as a "hellscape". Children know "nothing but fear and deprivation, while parents make impossible choices just to try to keep them alive", the humanitarian group added.
Mr Elder said Palestinian children are the "only victim" of what UN experts, human rights groups and scholars have described as genocide.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
THE DRAFT
The final phase of player recruitment for the T10 League has taken place, with UAE and Indian players being drafted to each of the eight teams.
Bengal Tigers
UAE players: Chirag Suri, Mohammed Usman
Indian: Zaheer Khan
Karachians
UAE players: Ahmed Raza, Ghulam Shabber
Indian: Pravin Tambe
Kerala Kings
UAE players: Mohammed Naveed, Abdul Shakoor
Indian: RS Sodhi
Maratha Arabians
UAE players: Zahoor Khan, Amir Hayat
Indian: S Badrinath
Northern Warriors
UAE players: Imran Haider, Rahul Bhatia
Indian: Amitoze Singh
Pakhtoons
UAE players: Hafiz Kaleem, Sheer Walli
Indian: RP Singh
Punjabi Legends
UAE players: Shaiman Anwar, Sandy Singh
Indian: Praveen Kumar
Rajputs
UAE players: Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed
Indian: Munaf Patel
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
THE SPECS
Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
