UNICEF expressed alarm at the killing of 15 Palestinians – including nine children and four women – while waiting in line for food supplies for children in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, on Thursday morning. Another 30 people were reportedly injured, including 19 children.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement issued Thursday that the killing of families trying to receive life-saving aid is unconscionable. “These mothers were searching for a lifeline for their children after months of hunger and despair,” she said.
“Among them was Dunya, whose one-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed. He had spoken his first words just hours earlier. Dunya now lies in the hospital, critically injured by the blast, clutching Mohammed’s tiny shoe. No mother should have to face such a tragedy.”
The UN official said this is the harsh reality facing many in Gaza today, after months of insufficient aid being allowed into the territory.
