Save the Children, together with many other international organisations, are calling for an immediate ceasefire in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel.
Children are always the first to suffer in any conflict. And the stories coming out of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory are the stuff of nightmares. Children are paying the highest price for a conflict that they have no part in.
Every war is a war against children. If we don’t act now, history will judge us all.
The killing and maiming of children, abduction, and attacks on schools and hospitals, are grave violations, and those responsible must be held to account for their actions.
In Gaza, essential resources such as water, food, fuel, and medical supplies are running out due to the siege. Children who survive the ongoing bombardment and ground operations are now at risk of dying from dehydration, starvation and disease.
Despite these spiralling needs, only a small fraction of the needed supplies has been allowed to cross into Gaza. None of the trucks of supplies include any fuel, desperately needed to support the rescue effort and to run hospitals.
The weaponization of aid must stop and every effort must be made to ensure children and civilians receive humanitarian relief immediately.
Today, we are calling on all Heads of State, the UN Security Council, and actors on the ground, to prioritize the preservation of human life above all else. During this ceasefire, we call on all parties to unconditionally:
1. Facilitate the delivery of lifesaving assistance, including food, medical supplies, fuel, and the resumption of electricity and internet to Gaza, in addition to safe passage of humanitarian and medical staff.
2. Free all civilian hostages, especially children.
3. Allow humanitarian convoys to reach schools, hospitals, and health facilities in northern Gaza and commit to protecting them along with the civilians and staff inside them at all times.
4. Rescind orders by the Government of Israel for civilians to depart northern Gaza.
5. Allow all patients in critical condition to be medically evacuated for urgent care.
This is a humanitarian catastrophe with unimaginable and unnecessary suffering. We urgently call for a #CeasefireNOW to ensure that all children can be protected and to allow for a massive scale-up in humanitarian aid supplies and personnel needed to deliver it.
If we don’t act now, history will judge us all. Children must be protected. Stop the war on children. #CeasefireNOW.
Together, we can protect children from the horrors of this conflict. Stand in unity with the hundreds of thousands who have already taken action and sign the petition now.