CGTN Europe spoke to Rosalia Bollen, Communication Specialist for UNICEF, about the aftermath of the overnight Israeli airstrikes that killed hundreds of people in Gaza.
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00:00Rosalia Bolland is from UNICEF. Thank you for coming on the program. So what is
00:05happening now following those overnight strikes? What we've seen in the
00:11immediate aftermath of the strikes is this large inflow of injured persons and
00:17dead people into the hospitals. Hospitals who are really coping with a
00:22lot of pressure. Healthcare has been decimated throughout the war in the
00:2615 months of war preceding these bombardments. I was just in Al-Aqsa
00:31Hospital a couple of days ago and their nurses at the neonatal intensive care
00:37unit were speaking to me about a lack of antibiotics. So it's in these conditions
00:41that hospitals have been receiving injured persons. Evacuation orders have
00:48also been issued for certain parts of northern Gaza and for eastern Ghana
00:54and UNICEF in the southern part of the Gaza Strip. And we're seeing that families
00:59are now moving yet again. Families who had just moved back to their homes
01:05during the ceasefire. They're faced with the choice of staying and facing
01:10possible death or moving again. There's quite a few families who choose for the
01:17latter. We also continue to see the immediate impact of the aid blockade.
01:24Since the beginning of March UNICEF and other organizations have not been able
01:28to pick up life-saving assistance waiting right outside of Gaza ready to
01:34be moved in. But we're not allowed to do that. UNICEF for instance for its part
01:39has over a hundred eighty thousand childhood vaccines ready to be brought
01:45in to vaccinate and protect up to sixty thousand children under the age of two.
01:49We have specialized equipment for neonatal units in hospitals to help
01:55preterm babies breathe. So all of that isn't coming in and is worsening the
02:01situation here on the ground. Rosalia as you're saying your medical
02:06facilities were pretty much already overwhelmed. You mentioned you can't get
02:11antibiotics but what about those other basics like access to clean water and
02:15and to food. So all of that is in jeopardy right now. In the first six
02:22weeks of the ceasefire UNICEF and others have been able to considerably scale up
02:27the supplies brought into Gaza. But that progress is being erased real fast right
02:35now because of the aid blockade and because of those bombardments. As to
02:40UNICEF whatever supplies that we have been able to bring in we haven't had the
02:46luxury to pre-position them to build up a large stock in our warehouses because
02:51families in Gaza remain in need of everything. The type of supplies that we
02:55have been able to bring in are for instance nutrition supplies, high-energy
03:00biscuits, plumpy nuts, health supplies so so disposables used in hospitals, gauze
03:07syringes, obstetric kits to help deliver babies, tarpaulins for people to build
03:13shelters, clothes for children. But we have tried as much as we could to
03:19distribute that because it would just not make sense for us to build up a
03:24stock while families right outside the warehouse need everything. So we still
03:30have some supplies in our warehouses but we need the borders to reopen for those
03:36supplies not to be depleted. Many countries have condemned what's taking
03:41place but what direct action would you like to see the international community
03:45taking right now? The international community should use all its leverage to
03:51put an immediate halt to these bombardments. UNICEF and others have been
03:55calling since this night for a halt in the bombardments and for the
04:01restoration of the ceasefire. That ceasefire must be sustained because that
04:05is the most immediate measure that will help save children's lives.
04:11Rosalia Bolan from UNICEF, thank you very much. Thank you for having me.