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Blast at Gaza refugee camp
A Palestinian woman reacts in front of a destroyed building in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza yesterday.
War in Gaza takes heavy toll on children
JERUSALEM — The United Nations is expressing renewed concerns about death from disease and famine. Among the most vulnerable are the estimated 1.1 million children trapped in the war-ravaged enclave.
“Children at high risk of dying from malnutrition and disease desperately need medical treatment, clean water and sanitation services, but the conditions on the ground do not allow us to safely reach children and families in need,” UNICEF Director Catherine Russell said. “The lives of children and their families are hanging in the balance.”
Mohamed Yazji is praying the war will end soon.
In October, his mother was killed in an airstrike and his father disappeared. Mohamed, 13, is doing the best he can to care for seven siblings, including his sister Toleen, who’s just months old.
After fleeing northern Gaza and moving several times, the siblings now call a small tent in the southern Gazan city of Rafah home.
The responsibility is weighing on Mohamed. “I do not know what to do,” he said. “It’s been 100 days, and each day it is more difficult than the one before.”
Nine-year-old Iyas, unable to see or speak, expresses his pain through muted whimpers and cries. NBC News first met Iyas in October at the Mabarit Rahme Orphanage in Gaza City, where nearly two dozen children, many with severe disabilities, were living. As northern Gaza grew more dangerous, the orphanage staff moved the children south. Some, including Iyas, are now sheltering in a garage in Rafah.
Having debilitating complex needs, Iyas requires regular medication and treatment. But, with only limited medical care, his condition is worsening.
“We’re telling the world that things are getting worse and worse. Our needs are growing, and we can’t meet them,” said Abdullah Mohamed, Iyas’ caretaker. “We could lose Iyas at any moment.”
