United Nations, February 10 (RHC)-- UNICEF has warned an escalation of Israel’s attacks in Rafah will cause hunger and disease to “skyrocket.”  Over half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have taken refuge in Rafah after Israel claimed it was a “safe” zone.  There are more than 600,000 children in the area. 

Gaza is already experiencing the worst levels of child malnutrition in the world.  This comes as a U.N. committee said it will review Israel’s abuses of children’s rights.

Ann Marie Skelton, a South African jurist and children's rights activist who serves as chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), told reporters: “The rights of children living under the state of Israel’s effective control are being gravely violated at a level that has rarely been seen in recent history.”

In the Jabaliya refugee camp, Gazans dug through rubble in a desperate search to find any source of water.  One area resident, Mahmoud Khedr, said: “I don’t know what to tell you.  It’s a hopeless situation. Instead of getting some rest, we dig under the rubble there.  This water line, for your information, we dug it out from under the rubble.  We kept digging until we found water. … We’re back to the Stone Age, 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 years ago.  We dig water out, filter it from sand and use it for cooking. … We’re asking all Arab countries and everyone to figure out a solution, because this is not a solution.  We die every day, every minute, every second.”

Meanwhile, in southern Gaza, Israeli snipers gunned down at least 21 people in Khan Younis as they tried to reach Nasser Hospital.  Al Jazeera reports Israeli soldiers are “shooting at every moving object” near the hospital.   In northern Gaza, the al-Quds Hospital has been under fire from Israeli tanks.