Source: Save the Children
A pause in hostilities in Gaza will protect children from bombs and bullets for as long as it holds but must be the turning point to secure a definitive ceasefire and to rapidly increase humanitarian aid to children facing malnutrition and disease, said Save the Children.
Save the Children is relieved that the Government of Israel and Hamas have finally reached agreement on a pause in hostilities after 15 months of siege and bombardment by Israeli forces that followed attacks by Palestinian armed groups in Israel on 7 October 2023. We welcome that this agreement will facilitate the release of Israeli hostages, including children, and Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention, and hope it offers the first step towards the peace, protection and accountability that children deserve.
The urgency now is to get shelter, food and medical supplies to hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza who have lost their homes and loved ones and are struggling daily to survive with the shadow of famine hanging over Gaza and the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid heavily restricted.
More than 17,818 of Gaza’s 1.1 million children have been killed over the past 15 months, according to the latest figures from the Government Media Office in Gaza. The pace and scale of hostilities, along with the decimation of hospitals and search and rescue capacities, means the actual number is undoubtedly even higher. Thousands of others have suffered life-altering injuries.
Reacting to the news of an agreed pause with potential for a definitive ceasefire in Gaza, Inger Ashing, Chief Executive Officer for Save the Children International, said:
“For 15 months, about one million children in Gaza have been caught in a living nightmare with loss, trauma and risks to their lives at every turn. If implemented, this pause will bring them vital reprieve from the bombs and bullets that have stalked them for more than a year. But it is not enough and the race is on to save children facing hunger and disease as the shadow of famine looms.
“The pause must be permanent, and efforts urgently ramped up to end the siege and vastly increase the entry of aid. Crucially, children across the Strip must be able to safely access this assistance, which must be determined by their needs rather than a “truck cap” and arbitrary restrictions on vital goods. People must also be able to return to their homes, safely and unimpeded, in line with their rights.
“We also cannot forget that for more than 17,818 children in Gaza who have already been killed, this pause is too late. Even for children who have survived, their childhoods have been stolen, replaced by injuries and disability, potentially irreversible mental harm, loss of family and friends, destruction of homes, schools, and health facilities, and the indelible consequences of childhood hunger, malnutrition and disease.
“The international community must ensure accountability for the harm children have faced and the lives that have been taken, as is demanded by their obligations under international law. Without accountability, impunity will continue to fuel violations with devastating impacts for children, families, and our common humanity. The international community must come together to ensure that the atrocities that Palestinian children have endured over the past 15 months never happen again – to Palestinian children and to any child anywhere.
“This also means addressing the root causes of repeated bouts of violence and a decades-long child rights crisis by ending the occupation, lifting the blockade on Gaza, and creating the conditions for lasting and definitive peace. Anything less than a definitive ceasefire and comprehensive accountability falls abysmally short of the safety, assistance and broader rights Palestinian children need, deserve and are entitled to – and means the international community is failing them yet again.”
Save the Children has been providing essential services and support to Palestinian children since 1953 and has had a permanent presence in the occupied Palestinian territory since 1973. In the event of a pause in hostilities, Save the Children will focus on increasing entry of lifesaving supplies, pre-positioning stock ready for additional entry points to open and aid flows to increase. Recognising that, in the event of a pause, many people will likely seek to return to their homes, we will work to ensure children and families have continued access to the assistance and services we provide wherever they are by establishing new primary health care centres, child-friendly spaces and temporary learning spaces in the north and south as needed, as well as exploring mobile options to assist children and families on the move.