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A ground incursion by Israeli forces would pose 'catastrophic risks' to hundreds of thousands of children taking shelter in Rafah, the head of the United Nations Children's Fund warned Monday.
The U.N. agency issued the statement after Israel ordered an evacuation of some neighborhoods in Rafah ahead of a possible ground invasion.
"Rafah is now a city of children, who have nowhere safe to go in Gaza," said Catherine Russell, UNICEF executive director.
"If large scale military operations start, not only will children be at risk from the violence, but also from chaos and panic, and at a time where their physical and mental states are already weakened," she added.
UNICEF said children in Rafah should not be forcibly relocated, and the infrastructure and aid they rely on should be protected. Most children in Rafah are injured, sick, malnourished, traumatized or living with a disability.
Following October evacuation orders to move south, an estimated 1.2 million Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah, which was once home to about 250,000 people. About half of the population is children, many of whom have been repeatedly displaced and forced to shelter in tents and unstable housing.
Children are more vulnerable to the impacts of the war in the Gaza Strip, compared to adults. UNICEF says they are disproportionately killed and injured and suffer more acutely from disruptions to health care, education and access to food and water.
Israel declared war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas after its October 7 terror attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of about 250 hostages.
More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's counteroffensive, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. At least 14,000 of those deaths are children.
UNICEF reiterated a February statement by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee calling on Israel to facilitate aid operations to Gaza.
"We are calling on Israel to fulfill its legal obligation, under international humanitarian and human rights law, to provide food and medical supplies and facilitate aid operations, and on the world's leaders to prevent an even worse catastrophe from happening," the committee said.
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