JERUSALEM, March 13, 2012 – The United Nations International Children's Fund (UNICEF) expressed deep concern over the impact on children of the recent escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and Israel, according to a press release published on Monday.

'Everything must be done to protect the safety and the lives of innocent children,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF Special Representative to the occupied Palestinian territory.

She called upon all parties to do everything in their power to protect children and to put an end to violence.

UNICEF reported that 15-year-old and 12-year-old Palestinian boys were killed in the recent Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, along with 14 Palestinian children aged from one to 17 years injured in Israeli airstrikes. In addition, two schools suffered minor damage in Gaza City.

The statement also said that a rocket hit a school in southern Israel that was empty at the time, and that classes had to be cancelled in the south of Israel, affecting over 200,000 students.

UNICEF noted that in 2010, 20 Palestinian children and five Israeli children were killed in incidents related to the conflict; another 448 Palestinian children and two Israeli children were injured.

R.Q./M.S.