WASHINGTON

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell voiced concern Thursday about the killing of children in the Gaza Strip.

"The last 24 hours were deadly for children in Gaza," Russell wrote on X after airstrikes on tents in the besieged enclave reportedly killed 15 children, including a child with disabilities who burned to death.

"Images of children burning while sheltering in makeshift tents should shake us all to our core," she said.

Nearly 600 children in Gaza have reportedly been killed and more than 1,600 injured since a ceasefire was broken on March 18, she said.

"All parties to this conflict must respect international humanitarian law. Protect civilians. Facilitate aid. Release hostages. Renew a ceasefire," Russell stressed.

More than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in a brutal Israeli onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.