UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell has confirmed that the Israeli army has killed over 50 children in deadly attacks in Jabalia, northern Gaza, during the past 48 hours.
She said on Saturday: ‘In the past 48 hours alone, over 50 children have reportedly been killed in Jabalia, where strikes levelled two residential buildings sheltering hundreds of people.’
She added: ‘And this morning, the personal vehicle of a UNICEF staff member working on the polio vaccination campaign came under fire by what we believe to be a quadcopter while driving through Jabalia – Elnazla. The car was damaged. Fortunately, the staff member was not injured, but she has been left deeply shaken,’ Russell said.
Meanwhile, at least three children were reportedly injured by another attack in the proximity of a vaccination clinic in Sheikh Radwan, while a polio vaccination campaign was underway.
Russell continued: ‘Taken alongside the horrific level of child deaths in north Gaza from other attacks, these most recent events combine to write yet another dark chapter in one of the darkest periods of this terrible war.
‘Civilians and civilian structures, including residential buildings, as well as humanitarian workers and their vehicles, must always be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.
‘Yet these principles are being flaunted over and over again, leaving tens of thousands of children killed, injured, and deprived of essential services needed for survival.’
She added: ‘The entire Palestinian population in north Gaza, especially children, is at imminent risk of dying from disease, famine, and the ongoing bombardments.’
The Israeli army, meanwhile, continued its bloody war on Lebanon for the 42nd consecutive day on Sunday, launching dozens of airstrikes and artillery shelling on various regions of the country, along with a ground invasion in several villages in the south, facing fierce resistance from Hezbollah.
On Sunday morning, Israeli warplanes carried out an airstrike in two waves targeting the town of Zoutar al-Sharqiya in the Nabatieh district of Lebanon.
Israeli aircraft also conducted two airstrikes on the outskirts of the towns of Bazourieh and Al-Burj Al-Shamali in southern Lebanon.
On Saturday night, Israeli warplanes targeted the towns of Jouya, Adloun, Houmine, and Khyam in southern Lebanon. The Lebanese news agency reported that two Israeli air raids targeted Houmine al-Tahta in the Marj area, and another hit the town of Kfarfila.
A Lebanese citizen was martyred, and 15 others were injured on Saturday evening due to an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern suburb of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that the toll from the Israeli aggression on Saturday reached 71 martyrs and 169 injuries, raising the total death toll from the aggression on Lebanon since October 8, 2023, to 2,968 martyrs and 13,319 injured.
In his closing remarks at Saturday’s London demonstration, Ben Jamal, Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support and called on the UK government to take concrete action. ‘We will not stop until justice prevails,’ he declared. ‘The world is watching, and history will remember those who stood up for human rights and those who turned a blind eye.’
Saturday’s march not only showcased the growing momentum behind the Palestinian cause but also demonstrated a united demand for an end to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and Lebanon. Organisers and participants vowed to continue their efforts until peace and justice are secured for the Palestinian people.
There is only one way forward. The leading members of the TUC who support Palestine must publicly insist that the TUC organisation calls out all of its millions of members in an indefinite general strike to bring down the Starmer government and bring in a workers government and socialism.
This is the only way forward. Workers must begin a massive campaign to recall the TUC Congress to call an indefinite general strike to support and recognise the state of Palestine and to bring down the Starmer government and bring in a Workers Government to free both the British and the Palestinian workers from the bankrupt capitalist system!