10 children in Gaza losing one or both legs every day: UNRWA

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) says an average of 10 children per day are losing one or both of their legs due to Israeli savagery in the besieged Gaza Strip.

URRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said in a press briefing in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday that the figures by UNICEF do not include children who have lost their hands or arms.

On top of the thousands of children Israel has killed or injured in the besieged Palestinian territory, more than 21,000 are also estimated to be missing, according to humanitarian organization Save the Children.

The organization recently said many of them are trapped under rubble, detained, buried in unmarked graves, or separated from their loved ones.

Lazzarini also again warned about the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Aid flow, in particular, has been strained in recent weeks, with the number of open crossings low and numerous aid trucks being looted, the UNRWA chief said.

“We are confronted with a near total breakdown of law and order. Truck drivers [are] being regularly threatened and assaulted, and less and less are willing to move assistance from the border to our warehouses.”

Lazzarini said Tuesday more UNRWA facilities were targeted overnight, bringing the total number of its affected premises to 190. These attacks deprive Palestinians seeking shelter there of what little protection remains in the enclave, he said.

Due to shortages, thousands of families are using seawater, according to UNRWA.

As summer heat sets in, children in Gaza are waiting in long queues to bring back small amounts of clean water.