Pernilla Ironside， Chief of the UN Children’s Fund （UNICEF） Gaza field office， noted that at least nine more Palestinian children were killed as of August 21 morning in the last 48 hours out of a total of 469 since 8 July. In addition， more than 3，000 Palestinian children have been injured. Her office， UNICEF Palestine， reported that 219 schools had been damaged by airstrikes and shelling， 22 completely destroyed.

UNICEF has 50 psychologists and counsellors in Gaza reaching out to children directly impacted by loss. They have reached 3，000， but the needs are “staggering” as parents are also in a state of trauma， Ms. Ironside said， noting that today 373，000 Palestinian children need “immediate psycho-social first aid.”

Another priority for UNICEF in Gaza is a “massive back-to-school campaign”， as August 24 is the start date for children to go back to school.

Meanwhile， the head of the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs （OCHA） in the occupied Palestinian territory， Ramesh Rajasingham， also called today for an immediate cease-fire， and emphasized that Gaza civilians cannot keep moving between their homes and shelters each time conflict renews.