Gazan children to become ‘lost generation’: UNRWA chief

GAZA CITY

Without an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, children are at grave risk of becoming a “lost generation” due to pervasive hunger and psychological trauma in the war-torn enclave, warns the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees.

Children are always "the first and the worst sufferers” in conflict and wars and Gaza is no exception, Philippe Lazzarini said in a social media post late on June 13.

“Children have gone through what no child anywhere in the world should see or undergo. Far too many were killed, far too many were injured and far too many will be scarred for life,” the UNRWA chief said.

Lazzarini underlined the dire humanitarian crisis facing the children of Gaza, who are subjected to relentless bombardment and hostilities on a daily basis, causing severe emotional and psychological distress.

“Those who survived are in deep trauma.”

He emphasized that young Gazans have been deprived of nearly a year of formal education as a direct consequence of the ongoing conflict.

The UNRWA chief lamented that the war has usurped their childhoods in many respects. He called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a ceasefire to mitigate the escalating humanitarian catastrophe.

“Their schools have been destroyed, and they lost a whole school year, with no education or play. The war robbed the children of Gaza of their childhood.”

“Without a ceasefire, they will become a lost generation, easy to fall prey to exploitation,” Lazzarini said.

Israel's retaliatory military offensive has left at least 37,232 people dead in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.

Eight months into the war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Earlier this week, a U.N. report said that violence against children in armed conflicts reached "extreme levels" in 2023, particularly in Gaza in Sudan.

The United Nations' annual "Children in Armed Conflict" report placed the Sudanese army as well as the rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the blacklist for "the killing and maiming of children and for attacks on schools and hospitals."

Also added to the blacklist were Hamas and the armed wing of Palestinian Islamic Jihad for the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, as well as the Israeli army for its retaliatory campaign against Hamas in Gaza.

"In 2023, violence against children in armed conflict reached extreme levels, with a shocking 21 percent increase in grave violations," said the report by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The U.N. verified 30,705 violations committed against children last year, including 5,301 killings, 6,348 injuries, 8,655 instances of children recruited and used in conflicts, 5,205 denials of humanitarian access and 4,356 kidnappings.