A displaced family receives winter clothing from UNICEF in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza. At least 74 children killed in Gaza in first week of 2025 Peace and Security
The UN humanitarian coordinator in the occupied Palestinian territory has called for an end to the war in Gaza to ensure a better future for children in the strip and across the Middle East.
Muhannad Hadi, who is also the UN Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, made the appeal during a visit to Gaza City, where he met with representatives of non-governmental organizations. The humanitarian coordinator also visited the Holy Family Church, where he recorded a video message surrounded by children displaced by the war.
“Churches, mosques, civilians and all civilian infrastructure must be protected,” Muhannad Hadi said, “but they can only be protected by stopping this war, by ceasing fire immediately. I am calling on everyone from the steps of this church in Gaza to stop the war for the sake of these children, for their future, and for a better future for everyone in the region.”
Children continue to die
Eight newborn babies have died of hypothermia in the Gaza Strip in less than three weeks, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). At least 74 children have died in the enclave in the first seven days of 2025.
According to data provided in a report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), a total of 136 attacks on hospitals and other health facilities in Gaza were recorded between 7 October 2023 and 30 June 2024.
In December 2024, the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) planned 190 coordinated humanitarian aid missions to the Gaza Strip. The Israeli authorities’ refusal rate to implement them has reached 70 percent, the highest in six months.
Al Jazeera Ban
Independent UN human rights experts on Monday called on the Palestinian Authority to immediately lift the ban on Al Jazeera and ensure that all journalists, both local and international, can work freely and safely in the occupied Palestinian territory.
“We are deeply alarmed by the Palestinian Authority’s attack on freedom of expression,” the experts said. “The closure of a prominent international media outlet, one of the largest in the region, is a disproportionate and dangerous restriction on freedom of expression, and undermines the right of the Palestinian people, as well as regional and global audiences, to be informed.”
The Palestinian Attorney General has ordered the suspension of Al Jazeera in the Occupied Palestinian Territory on January 1, 2025. The ban on Al Jazeera’s broadcasting and activities, including the work of its journalists, staff and film crews, was imposed for “provocative content, disinformation, sedition and interference in Palestinian affairs.”
Following this, on January 5, a Ramallah court ordered the closure of several popular Al Jazeera websites for four months, including aljazeera.net, aljazeera.net/live, aljazeera360.com and global.ajplus.net, on the grounds that the content they published “threatens national security and incites the commission of crimes.”
The special rapporteurs and working groups are part of the so-called Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. They are not UN employees and are not affiliated with any government or organization. They work in a personal capacity and do not receive a salary for their work.