LIVE. Major attack coming? Israel calls for evacuation in Rafah, Hamas: “Dangerous escalation”

Rafah ground offensive would be a catastrophe for children, says UNICEF

According to UNICEF, the United Nations children’s rights organization, a ground offensive in Rafah, a city in the south of the Gaza Strip, will have catastrophic consequences for the 600,000 children in the city. Hundreds of thousands of children there are already injured, malnourished, sick or living with a disability.
There are currently about 1.2 million people in Rafah, about half of whom are children. A ground offensive in the city would not only threaten those children because of the violence, but also because of the chaos and panic it would bring. Many of them have lost their homes and loved ones or even no longer have parents. In addition, the destruction of healthcare and education is also taking a toll on the plight of Rafah’s children.
A possible departure from Rafah also entails risks: there may be unexploded ordnance on the roads around the city. In addition, homes and health care facilities have also been largely destroyed in the places where fleeing families would end up. UNICEF therefore calls on children and families who cannot or do not want to move to be protected after an evacuation order.
According to the latest estimate from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 14,000 children have already been killed in the Gaza Strip.