More children likely to suffer if Israel expands control in Gaza, UNICEF warns

UNICEF warned Friday that any expansion of Israeli control over territory in Gaza would further strain humanitarian operations and worsen living conditions for children already facing severe shortages of water, sanitation, and health services.

“If this happens, more children will suffer,” Salim Oweis, a UNICEF communication specialist, told reporters in Geneva when asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reported plans to bring 70% of Gaza under Israeli control.

Oweis said Gaza's population is already concentrated in a shrinking area, with families crowded into roughly 40% of the territory.

“Cramming people in a very small portion of space is causing more problems,” he said, warning that overcrowding increases the spread of disease, strains basic services and makes it harder for families to meet children's needs.

He said additional territorial restrictions could make humanitarian access even more difficult.

“More of the land being taken means that we will lose access to some of the service points,” Oweis said, adding that aid agencies could also face greater challenges reaching communities in hard-to-access areas.

The warning comes as UNICEF reports worsening health conditions among children in Gaza. Oweis cited growing numbers of respiratory infections, acute watery diarrhea, and skin diseases linked to deteriorating sanitation conditions and shortages of clean water.

“The effects of this are now widely apparent,” he said, noting that more than half of households are reporting skin diseases, while fleas, lice and scabies have become commonplace.

He added that "increasing numbers of children are requiring hospitalization" despite the absence of a single fully functioning hospital in Gaza.

UNICEF also warned that damaged water infrastructure, restrictions on repair materials, and mounting waste are deepening the crisis, calling for unrestricted humanitarian access and adherence to international humanitarian law.

“Only then will children in Gaza start to break free from the cycle of suffering they are trapped in," he concluded.