The head of the United Nations children’s agency has called the besieged Gaza Strip “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child,” and said that the hard-won truce deal between Israel and Hamas was not enough to save their lives, AFP reports.

Unicef’s executive director Catherine Russell told the UN Security Council that over 5,300 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza since Israel began bombarding the strip following Hamas’ Oct 7 attack, accounting for 40 percent of the deaths.

“This is unprecedented,” said Russell, who had just returned from a trip to southern Gaza. “I am haunted by what I saw and heard.”

Russell welcomed a deal reached by Israel and Hamas to free hostages and pause ferocious fighting and bombardment in Gaza.