1st of June is the Global Day of Parents – it’s a day which celebrates  the critical role of parents in the rearing of children. Sadly in war zones around the world – Sudan, Ukraine, and Gaza – to name just three, many children have been deprived of parents. And many parents have lost their children, killed in these dreadful conflicts.

Last week The Orkney News reported on the ruling of the World Court which said that Israel was to cease its attacks on the city of Rafah. That ruling by the ICJ was ignored by Israel and horrifically the bombardment of Rafah continued. People sheltering in tents were burned alive in a place they thought was safe which had been designated for those who had been displaced.

Twenty one people were killed, mostly women and children, in the major attack on Tuesday – 64 people were wounded, with 10 in a critical condition.

On Sunday, the attacks continued and at least 45 people were killed and 250 injured, the majority women and children, in an Israeli attack on a camp for those displaced from the southern city of Rafah.

Xavier Joubert, Save the Children’s Country Director in the occupied Palestinian Territory, said:

“In a conflict already characterised by civilian harm, we are staggered by this further escalation of violence against children and families, more so that it comes just days after the new ICJ ruling ordering Israel to cease its military activity in Rafah. The ICJ’s ruling creates legal obligations which must be adhered to. Instead, these obligations are being categorically ignored.

“What more evidence do leaders need to show there is absolutely nowhere safe for children and families in Gaza? They are permanently, constantly, fleeing for their lives, from one danger zone to another. And they’re not fleeing randomly – they’re going to the areas that Israel directed them to go to “for their own safety”. Then they are being attacked.

“For those who haven’t yet been hit by explosive weapons fired directly into civilian areas, they are suffering the slow, agonizing effects of starvation. Children’s mental and physical health is being pushed beyond breaking point, as they suffer unimaginable mental harm from the violence, serious physical injuries, including the loss of body parts, and the loss of families, homes, and their schools. 

“We strongly condemn any expansion of military operations in Rafah and continued attacks on families across Gaza. The only way to save children’s lives is an immediate, definitive ceasefire.”

Children are starving because very little aid is managing to get through.  WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said: “So, you ask, ‘Are the supplies getting through?’ No, children are starving.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has appealed to Israel to respect international law regarding the safe passage of lifesaving relief. Since mid-January, more than 93,400 children under five have been screened for malnutrition in Gaza; 7,280 were found to have acute malnutrition, including 5,604 with moderate acute malnutrition and 1,676 with severe acute malnutrition.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is calling for all border crossings and crossing points within Gaza to be open, as the Israeli incursion in Rafah continues to have a devastating impact on civilians and humanitarian operations.

The US backed Floating Dock which was intended to deliver aid through a sea route has partially broken up in high seas. The overall deterioration in the security situation has either severely hampered or completely halted the movement of aid workers and humanitarian relief items into and across the Gaza Strip as reported by Gaza Humanitarian Response Update (20-26 May 2024) – OCHA.

Liz Bradshaw, Senior Conflict & Humanitarian adviser at Save the Children UK, said:

“This war on children must stop. We strongly condemn these horrific attacks, and the catastrophic ground incursion in Rafah. The UK must immediately suspend arms to the Government of Israel and demand an immediate and definitive ceasefire.”

Around 1.7 million people in the Gaza Strip are estimated to have been internally displaced – half of them children. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell on May 27 posted on ‘X’:

“Images of burned children & families emerging from bombed tents in Rafah shocks us all. The reported killing of children sheltering in makeshift tents is unconscionable. For over 7 months, we’ve witnessed this tragedy unfold, resulting in thousands of children killed or injured.”

Today 1st of June, islanders in Orkney will again stand in Vigil on the Kirk Green, St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, as they have done every Saturday since October. The vigils take place from 1 to 2pm and all who wish to see an immediate ceasefire, a return of all hostages, for humanitarian aid to get through, and for peace, are welcome to come along and stand with the islanders.

Fiona Grahame