On the 6th, when the Israeli military asked 100,000 residents of eastern Rafah to evacuate to the western Mediterranean coast or north to Khan Yunis, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that many children in Rafah would be particularly at risk.
According to CNN, Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF, pointed out in a statement that “Rafah is now a city of children, with many children, and there is nowhere safe for them to evacuate.”
“More than 600,000 children are still in a state of disaster,” she said. “If an attack is launched, the situation will worsen dramatically. When a large-scale military operation begins, children will not only face violence but also fall into the danger of chaos and fear. Even now, they are physically and mentally weak,” Russell said.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 43% of the 35,000 war-related deaths, or 15,000, are minors. Additionally, 20,000 have lost their mothers and become orphans.
Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, strongly urged Israel to abandon its attack on the densely populated Rafah area where Gaza refugees are concentrated.
According to AFP, Borrell criticized the “immediate evacuation” order issued in the eastern region of Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip, on the 6th (local time), saying it was no different from “heralding the worst possible outcome, more war and famine.”
He drew a firm line, saying, “It is unacceptable,” and emphasized that the European Union (EU) and the international community must act to prevent Israel’s ground operation scenario in Rafah.
Israel had previously issued an evacuation order for about 100,000 residents in the eastern region of Rafah just a day after announcing that “severe measures will be taken in Rafah soon.” Less than a day later, it launched airstrikes on two places in eastern Rafah.
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