Johannesburg - Over 300 children have been killed and more than 1 500 wounded since the beginning of the Gaza crisis on 27 December, according to the United Nation's Children's Fund (Unicef).
Speaking to reporters in Johannesburg on Thursday, Unicef Executive Director Ann Veneman said "each day, more children are being hurt, their small bodies wounded and their lives shattered.
"This is tragic and unacceptable ... because we talk of children's lives interrupted. No human being can watch this without being moved," she told the media.
Over 1 000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli attack on Gaza, the majority of whom are civilians caught in the crossfire as Israel attempts to root out Islamist Hamas elements in a bid to halt militant rocket attacks.
Thirteen Israelis have also died and Israel says it will press ahead until it receives guarantees of a complete halt to rocket fire and an end to weapons smuggling into Gaza from neighbouring Egypt.
She stressed that humanitarian access to all, especially to the most vulnerable, must be unhampered, adding that civilian populations must be protected on both sides, in line with international principles.
She said children form the majority of the population of Gaza "are bearing the brunt of a conflict which is not theirs. As fighting reaches the heart of heavily populated urban areas, the impact of lethal weapons will carry an even heavier toll on children," she added.
Together with its partners, she said Unicef was doing all it could to assist, despite the difficult conditions.
"New resources have been made immediately available to provide children and their families with urgent needs like water, educational and resuscitation kits, among others."
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon who is currently in the Middle East has appealed for urgent compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which calls for an immediate, durable and fully respected ceasefire and for the unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance.
"My goal is an immediate end to the violence in Gaza, an end to Israel's military offensive and a halt to rocket attacks by Hamas cited by Israel as the reason for the attack," he said, adding that it was intolerable that civilians bear the brunt of this conflict.
On Thursday, Israeli tanks shelled downtown Gaza City and ground troops continued deep into the crowded Tel Hawwa neighbourhood for the first time, sending thousands of terrified residents fleeing for cover and increasing pressure on Hamas rulers to accept a proposed ceasefire to end Israel's devastating offensive. - BuaNews
