UNICEF speaks from the heart of Gaza: Israel is turning ‘safe zones’ into ‘death zones’

The United Nations (UN) has strongly criticised talk of a safe zone for Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip, describing such claims as “absurd” and stressing that there is no safe place within the Strip, whom Israel have embroiled in genocide for months.

UNICEF: ‘safe zones’ in the south of Gaza ‘ridiculous’

James Elder, spokesperson for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said during a press conference in Geneva via video link from Gaza that “the idea of a safe zone in the south is ridiculous”. He noted that the areas designated by Israel for this purpose have effectively become ‘death zones.’

Elder explained that:

bombs are repeatedly dropped from the sky, spreading terror among civilians, and schools that have been designated as temporary shelters are regularly reduced to rubble, while tents are burned by air strikes.

He added that health conditions are deteriorating, with mothers and newborns facing extremely difficult conditions amid a severe shortage of medical supplies and overcrowded hospitals, noting how:

the corridors of the Nasser Medical Complex in the southern Gaza Strip are crowded with women who have just given birth.

Humanitarian conditions ‘catastrophic and unprecedented’

The Gaza Strip is suffering from a suffocating humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the ongoing Israeli blockade, which was partially eased at the end of May. However, the UN and humanitarian organisations have confirmed that the aid that has entered the Strip is “completely insufficient” to meet the growing needs.

According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, the genocide that has been ongoing since 7 October has resulted in the deaths of more than 66,000 Palestinians. The remaining population lives in humanitarian, environmental, and health conditions that the United Nations has described as “catastrophic and unprecedented”.

Feature image via Al Jazeera English/Youtube.