Israel targets UNICEF in Gaza as part of wider crackdown on aid agencies: Rights body
The Zionist regime has come under fire for targeting the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in what Palestinian and international observers describe as part of a systematic campaign to undermine humanitarian operations and drive UN agencies out of the Gaza Strip.
Reporting on Friday, the Geneva-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said Zionist regime’s forces had arrested UNICEF staff member Raed al-Afifi, 45, at the Kerem Shalom crossing while he was carrying out official duties with prior coordination.
Zionist regime’s authorities have yet to provide any information regarding his detention or whereabouts, the body added.
A day before the arrest, the Zionist regime’s army had ordered UNICEF to withdraw its aid convoys and supplies from the same crossing and subsequently blocked the entry of medical shipments destined for hospitals in northern Gaza, EuroMed added.
According to the organization, the supplies included vaccines for newborns and nutritional supplements for children.
The move has further disrupted humanitarian operations in the coastal sliver, where UNICEF plays a crucial role in health, education, child protection, and infrastructure support for civilians caught in the ongoing crisis.
The report said the targeting of UNICEF fits a broader Israeli strategy aimed at restricting the presence of UN and international relief agencies that have documented widespread violations against Palestinian civilians throughout the conflict.
Humanitarian groups warn that these measures are designed to cut off essential services and eliminate international oversight of the worsening conditions in Gaza.
The developments have prompted renewed calls for the United Nations and the international community to act urgently to ensure the protection of aid workers, facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access, and stop what rights advocates denounce as the regime’s deliberate effort to starve Gaza’s population and silence global witnesses to its actions.
Also on Friday, EuroMed said the regime has killed an average of 10 Palestinians per day in the Palestinian territory since October 10, when a deal took effect aimed at implementing the first phase of a plan to end Tel Aviv’s months-long war of genocide on the territory.
The Geneva-based body said the regime’s actions, including daily shelling, systematic destruction, and forced displacement, amounted to “acts of genocide against Palestinians.”
On Sunday, UNICEF had described the ceasefire in Gaza as a "vital chance" to protect one million Palestinian children in need.
During the genocide, the regime has martyred at least 68,643 Palestinians, mostly women and children.