Life support services for premature babies in Gaza at risk as crossings remain closed: UNICEF

The head of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday issued a stern warning about vital facilities running out of fuel in the Gaza Strip, threatening services for premature babies.

"If the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings are not reopened to fuel and humanitarian supplies, the consequences will be felt almost immediately: life support services for premature babies will lose power; children and families will become dehydrated or consume dangerous water; sewage will overflow and spread disease further," Catherine Russell said in a statement.

Pleading for urgency, Russell emphasized that procrastination could translate into loss of life.

"Simply put, lost time will soon become lost lives," she asserted.

She stressed that crucial facilities such as hospitals, primary health care centers, water desalination plants, sewage pumps, and waste collection systems are at risk of running out of fuel within a matter of days, if not hours.

Russell called upon relevant authorities to take immediate and decisive action to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

"I strongly urge the relevant authorities to provide humanitarian actors with actionable measures and concrete assurances to facilitate safe and secure movement of humanitarian cargo, via all routes, into and within the Gaza Strip," she said.