UNICEF: Gaza’s Children Dying Amid Drastic Decline in Medical Evacuations by Israel

Gaza (Quds News Network)- The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned that children in Gaza are suffering and dying in excruciating pain due to a severe reduction in medical evacuation approvals by Israeli authorities, which has worsened since the closure of the Rafah Crossing. According to James Elder, a UNICEF spokesperson, the monthly evacuation rate for critically ill children in Gaza has dropped from nearly 300 to fewer than one per day as Israeli authorities continue to delay or deny security clearances for departures.

After more than a year of @UNICEF attempting to shed light on the atrocities being committed against children in Gaza, perhaps THIS is the most damning reality: Children – deeply unwell children – are being denied the medical care that could save them in Gaza, and then prevented… https://t.co/r0ztC5fA0r

— James Elder (@1james_elder) October 25, 2024

In a press briefing in Geneva, Elder highlighted the impact on Gaza’s youngest and most vulnerable, stating, “hildren in Gaza are dying, not just from the bombs and the bullets and the shells that strike them.” He explained that even in cases where children survive blasts and collapsing homes, they are often unable to leave Gaza for life-saving medical treatment. “If this lethally slow pace continues, it would take more than seven years to evacuate the 2,500 children needing urgent medical care,” Elder warned.

Elder also recounted specific cases that reflect the heartbreaking toll of these delays. One is the case of 12-year-old Mazyuna, whose face was severely injured in a missile strike that killed her siblings. Despite the urgency, multiple requests for her evacuation were denied, even after offering to evacuate her without her mother. Elder described her as “incredibly brave,” though she is in immense pain, with her condition rapidly worsening.

In another case, 4-year-old Elia has been hospitalized for over 40 days, suffering from fourth-degree burns that cover her body. Her mother, who was also hospitalized, passed away recently after her wounds became infected. Though Elia finally received approval to evacuate following her mother’s death, the timing remains uncertain. Doctors have warned they may need to amputate her limbs if she does not receive urgent care soon.

Despite these grave conditions, Israel’s Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), responsible for approving medical evacuations, has not commented on specific cases or on the broader decline in approvals. Elder criticized the bureaucratic process as an indifferent grip that is exacerbating children’s suffering. This is not a logistical problem, we have the ability to safely transport these children out of Gaza. It is not a capacity problem, indeed, we were evacuating children at higher numbers just months ago,” he said, adding: “It is simply a problem that is being completely disregarded.”

Since October 7, 2023, Israel’s intensified offensive on Gaza has led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, resulting in the deaths and injuries of over 143,000 Palestinians—most of them women and children. With tens of thousands more missing amid immense destruction and famine conditions killing even more vulnerable groups, Elder called for urgent intervention to protect Gaza’s children from further suffering and unnecessary deaths.