Deir al-balah: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned on Friday that the so-called "safe zones" in the South of Gaza are also "places of death". UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder described the very notion of such zones as "farcical", stressing that relentless bombardment and humanitarian collapse have rendered them deadly rather than protective.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Elder spoke during a press conference in Geneva, where he detailed his visits to Nasser and Al-Aqsa hospitals. He described harrowing scenes where children were left paralyzed, burned, or amputated following direct hits on their tents. Elder highlighted the severity of the situation, stating, "All the children I met in Al-Aqsa Hospital had been shot by drones and quadcapture. This level of violence and deprivation being normalized is profoundly broken."
He further recounted his observations at Nasser Hospital, where mothers and newborns were lying in corridors, and three premature babies were forced to share a single oxygen source. Each child had to take turns receiving 20 minutes of oxygen while the others cried. Elder also noted that Al-Rantissi Hospital admitted between 60 and 80 children daily, primarily for malnutrition and illness, and that the intensive care unit for infants at Al-Ahli Hospital is overflowing after being shelled last week. In response to questions from Kuwait News Agency about resuming operations in Gaza City, Elder emphasized that "Gaza City remains home to tens of thousands of children" and affirmed UNICEF's determination to return.
World Health Organization's representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, Rick Peeperkorn, added that forced evacuations have become a devastating pattern in Gaza. "We have seen this cycle repeatedly in the north, Khan Younis, and Rafah. Hospitals are bombed, staff forced to flee, patients abandoned. This is the cruel absurdity civilians endure," he said. Peeperkorn reiterated that humanitarian agencies are working under conditions of extreme risk and insufficiency, calling for a permanent ceasefire.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Spokesperson Christian Cardon confirmed that no international staff remain in Gaza City due to ongoing bombardment, evacuation orders, and threats faced by healthcare workers.