GAZA, January 14, 2009 (WAFA)- As the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip entered its 19th day,  According to Ministry of Health (OCHA) figures of January 14, At least 997 Palestinians were killed since 27 December, including  311 children and 100 women. Over 4525 have been injured, including over 1,459 children and 625 women. Exact figures are not available due to insecurity, rising number of casualties, and difficulty in taking out the injured from collapsed buildings. Hundreds of homes have been destroyed and damaged resulting in the displacement of thousands of people.

Such alarming numbers of children fallen victims of the current military operations are likely to continue to grow. More than half (56%) of Gaza's 1.4 million residents are children, and past days have unfortunately highlighted that there are currently no safe spaces in Gaza. No recognized safe heaven can fully protect the children of Gaza, as they become the captive victims in an area where only a very few of the critically ill or injured are able to flee.

The children are however not the sole vulnerable group in the current environment. By 12 January, 35,000 people were reported to have sought refuge in 38 emergency shelters, organized and supported by UNRWA. Hospitals are struggling to treat the sheer number of wounded patients and report an urgent need for medical equipment, specialist skills, and supplies. As of 7 January, hospitals had been running on generators for five consecutive days and fuel reserves at the Pediatric Hospital were sufficient for less than three days. Medical staff themselves are not immune to danger, and at least six emergency medical workers have been killed since the beginning of the military operations.

Shortage of drinking water and sewage overflows in residential areas are becoming an imminent public health danger. Much of the population is now dependent on their own stored water supplies and limited sales by private distributors. Incidental reports appear to indicate that some areas are cut off from any access to water for days on end, forcing some residents to brave the conflict to find limited quantities of drinking water for themselves and their families. Sewage overflows are most serious in northern Gaza and partners say they are increasingly concerned that a sewage lake will overflow into nearby communities. Such movements of people or goods are reportedly increasingly dangerous, with growing fears of possibly high numbers of unexploded ordinances littering the areas where missiles and bombs have fallen. These lethal remnants of war pose a direct threat to children and their families.

Finally, although access to schools is not currently realistic, many fear that such an effective means of providing children with a protective environment, and the normalcy of a safe routine will be off limit for a while yet. At least 18 UNRWA schools are said to have sustained damage; while a growing number of the unaffected ones are being occupied by internally displaced families (IDPs). Meanwhile, the continued fighting means that about 441,452 Gaza primary age school children cannot have access to education.

The above is compounding a context of high vulnerability for both population and infrastructures. Gaza has been under an Israeli-imposed blockade for the last 18 months –since Hamas took control of the territory fuelling sharp increases in poverty, and a significant deterioration on infrastructure and services. Around 80% of the population was already dependent on food assistance to meet daily needs prior to the crisis.

UNICEF said it is “highly concerned at the above-described situation on the ground and its terrible toll on children and parents. International and national aid agencies have, to date, experienced extremely significant challenges in providing an adequate response to the needs of children. UNICEF and its partners have not been able to send support teams of experts to provide coordination and immediate hands-on relief assistance to the children in need, and only limited amounts of aid has been distributed on the ground, due to the prevailing fighting.”