Russia ready to provide assistance to children evacuated from Palestine

MOSCOW

Russia is ready to provide assistance to children evacuated from Palestine, but so far no requests have been received, the country's Children's Ombudswoman Maria Lvova-Belova said on Wednesday.

Speaking at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Child Rights Protection Commission in Minsk, Belarus, Lvova-Belova said that at the moment she has no data about Russian children in the Palestine-Israel conflict zone.

"We have expressed our desire to support and help if necessary ... If such a need arises, we have said this from the very beginning, we will be ready to get involved and we will be ready to help," she said.

The UN Children’s Fund, or UNICEF, on Tuesday raised the alarm over the rising number of child deaths in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, when Israel-Palestine tensions flared into an armed conflict.

On Tuesday, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said at a news conference in Geneva that Gaza "has become a graveyard of children" and a "living hell for everyone else."

This week the Israeli army expanded its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise offensive against Israel on Oct. 7.

Israeli airstrikes on Gaza have repeatedly targeted hospitals, residences, mosques, and churches. Under the Geneva Convention, attacks on hospitals are strictly prohibited.

More than 10,000 people have been killed in the conflict since then – 8,525 Palestinians, including 3,542 children, and 1,538 Israelis.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected international calls for a cease-fire.