Gaza:The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and others have sent two truckloads of medical equipment and drugs, including antibiotics, saline solution and syringes to the strife-torn Gaza strip, to treat an estimated 70,000 Palestinians, who were injured during demonstrations along the border fence with Israel, earlier this week.
According to a UN statement, Palestinians have been demonstrating against the decade-long blockade on Gaza for the last six weeks, but Monday's protests were deadliest, with nearly 60 killed and more than 1,300 injured. UNICEF reported that medical facilities were 'buckling under the strain,' dealing with the additional casualties as the health system was already weakened, due to shortages of fuel, medicine and equipment.
The agency added that the intensifying violence in Gaza has also worsened the plight of children, ''whose lives have already been unbearably difficult for many years''. UNICEF said more than 1,000 children have been injured in violence since the start of the protests, and ''many of these injuries are severe and potentially life-altering, including amputations''. ''Children should be protected, not targeted, used in violence or put in risky situations,'' said the agency, calling on all actors within the occupied territories ''to put in place specific measures to keep children out of harm and avoid child casualties''.
Half of all children depend on humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, while one in four needs psycho-social care. Families receive four to five hours of electricity each day, while 90 per cent have no direct access to clean water, the statement added. (UNI)