The United Nations body charged with monitoring the protection of children's rights said Tuesday that the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 300 children and injured hundreds more, will have a “devastating” effect on a future generation of children. “The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child is deeply concerned at the devastating effects that the current military engagement in Gaza is having on children,” the 18-member body said in a statement issued in Geneva, where it is currently in session. John Ging, the top U.N. official in Gaza, who spoke to reporters at U.N. headquarters in New York via video link from Gaza, underscored the point. “Tragically, the horror continued here overnight. Nineteen children were killed and 52 were injured last night,” Ging said on Tuesday. More than 4,000 people have been wounded, so far, in the 18-day offensive and this includes at least 1500 children, according to the U.N. Doctors at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City last week reported multiple amputees among wounded children. “Hundreds of children have been killed or injured, many seriously. Many others have lost their loved ones. The continuous fighting and destruction of livelihoods and basic infrastructures, severely compromise enjoyment of human rights especially in relation to health, education and family life,” the committee added in its statement. Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon left for the Middle East on Tuesday where he will meet with regional leaders and reiterate his calls for an immediate and durable ceasefire and adherence to last week's U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire. Ban met with members of the Security Council on Tuesday morning ahead of his departure for Cairo. “Everybody supports the role of the Secretary General for the implementation of Resolution 1860. We think it can be of great help,” said French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert, whose country holds the presidency of the Security Council this month. Ban will begin his trip in Egypt, where he will meet with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. He will then meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II in Amman. On Thursday, he visit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and meet Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. He will then visit Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah.
