Piece Description

The blockade of goods into the Gaza Strip, which enters its fourth year in June, has severely affected Palestinian children and families. Some 60 per cent of Gaza’s households are food-insecure, and power outages here can last up to 12 hours a day.

Ms. Kaag’s visit came just days after a children’s summer camp run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was vandalized by a group of armed attackers.

Recreational camps organized by UNRWA and UNICEF offer children an opportunity for relief from the hardships of living under the blockade. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the vandalism as “an attempt to intimidate and harm the most defenseless in Gaza.”

In the wake of the attack, Ms. Kaag cited the existence of “parties here who consider these kinds of summer camps to be running ... counter-religious values.” A related concern, she said, is the “political manipulation” of children through political messaging, media programmes or other forms of communication encouraging violence. Such manipulation violates the fundamental human rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, she added.

UNICEF is working closely with Palestinian non-governmental organizations, youth centres and media outlets to combat violent messaging in Gaza.