Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, told the United Nations Security Council that Gaza’s children are suffering catastrophic harm and that current humanitarian access is far short of what is needed to prevent further deaths.

"Children have been killed, traumatized, and taken hostage," Russell said, adding, "And, make no mistake, we have failed them." She told the council that over the past 21 months of war more than 17,000 children in Gaza have reportedly been killed and about 33,000 injured, an average of 28 children killed each day.

Russell said children in Gaza are experiencing severe food insecurity and malnutrition, a collapse of water and sanitation services and shortages of medical care. Of more than 113,000 children screened for malnutrition in June, she said nearly 6,000 were found to be acutely malnourished, a 180% increase since February. She said 95% of households do not have access to adequate water and that waterborne diseases now account for 44% of health consultations.

Russell described hospitals as overwhelmed, with occupancy exceeding 100% in some emergency departments and newborn care reduced by nearly 70%. She said at least 12,500 patients with severe injuries, chronic diseases or complex medical needs — including thousands of children — need urgent medical evacuation, and that only a small number of countries are currently accepting patients from Gaza.

On aid delivery, Russell said that after an almost complete aid blockade the authorities in mid-May permitted a limited flow of U.N. supplies. "Between May 19 and July 2, authorities allowed an average of 30 U.N. trucks per day to offload aid at designated crossings," she said, and added that "30 trucks a day are a fraction of what is needed for 2 million people to survive." She called for consistent, sufficient deliveries of fuel and other lifesaving supplies, noting that electricity cutoffs have left hospitals, water pumping and sanitation services dependent on limited fuel supplies.

Russell urged this council to press parties to respect and enable humanitarian operations. She called on all parties to protect civilians, asked Israel to urgently review its rules of engagement to ensure compliance with international humanitarian law and to investigate alleged violations, and called on Hamas and other armed groups to respect humanitarian law and to immediately and unconditionally release hostages. She also reiterated the U.N. secretary-general’s appeal for aid deliveries to be demilitarized and conducted according to the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence.

Russell said UNICEF and partners had previously delivered assistance door-to-door and through more than 400 distribution points during an earlier ceasefire and called for a return to that scale of operations with safe and sustained access. She added that evacuated patients and their caregivers should have guaranteed return to Gaza after treatment and commended countries in the region accepting patients.

The briefing also referenced a deteriorating situation in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where Russell said 33 Palestinian children had been killed since the start of the year and more than 32,000 people displaced; she said the number of Palestinian children in detention for alleged security-related offenses has reached its highest level in seven years and cited 120 children held under administrative detention orders.

Russell closed by urging member states and the council to use their leverage to de-escalate the conflict and to restore humanitarian access, saying, "Children in Gaza, like children all over the world, deserve peace. Our job is to give children the future they deserve."