Hope is being drowned out by the bombs, says UNICEF's Elder

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UNICEF's senior spokesperson James Elder has pleaded with Israel to allow the agency "to flood the Gaza Strip with aid" before starvation claims many lives.

Elder told CGTN that immediately after the ceasefire announcement on Monday (March 25) there had been "such great hope" but that amid the ongoing bombardments "things get worse each day."

According to Elder: "I was in a hospital today. Many children with those horrendous wounds of war again and they are from injuries in the last 36 hours. I've been to the north, where famine is imminent".

Palestinian children wounded in an Israeli strike rest as they receive treatment at a hospital. /Mohammed Salem/Reuters

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Elder said that while some aid has made it into Gaza, much of it is being blocked at the border. He said: "People there know that there is a crossing 10 or 15 minutes away that could alleviate their suffering. Stop the obstructions, stop the random denials, and open more crossings, particularly those in the North."

He added: "This crisis is man-made, this hunger crisis now on top of war, is man-made. It could also be reversed by the right decisions being made."

Having been in Gaza for just over a week, Elder has witnessed the widespread deprivation of basic necessities but identified food as the most vital commodity.

He explained: "Water again, of course. Protection two. It gets cold in Gaza. Hundreds of thousands of people sleep on the street, on beaches. But first and foremost, food."

Elder said "all these things food, water, medicine, all these things (must) get fixed for the ceasefire."

Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies. /Mohammed Salem/Reuters

New data reveals that in Gaza, approximately 1.1 million individuals, at least half the population, face severe food insecurity. Many are forced to resort to consuming hay and animal feed to survive.

Elder spoke to a Palestinian mother in Jabalia, Northern Gaza and said "her 12-year-old daughter keeps having a recurring dream. Her dream is to eat a slice of cucumber. These are the dreams of children here."

Elder stresses the importance of the ceasefire to allow hostages to return home to their families to allow "us to flood the Gaza Strip with aid" and for the first time in many months allow a child just here to go to bed at night with his family, knowing in the full knowledge that they will definitely wake up."