World cannot allow Gaza ceasefire to fail: UNICEF official

UNICEF’s Middle East regional director, Edouard Beigbeder, says the ceasefire in Gaza “offers a vital chance for the survival, safety and dignity of children”, adding after he returned from the territory that the “world cannot allow this ceasefire to fail”. In a statement, Beigbeder said: “Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip have resulted in wholesale devastation. Words and numbers alone cannot convey the scale of the impact on children that I saw – an impact that will last for generations.” “We are racing against the clock to save children’s lives from preventable threats like malnutrition, disease and the winter cold,” Beigbeder said.