© UNICEF/M. Nat Children receive polio vaccinations in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, as part of a vaccination campaign (file photo). UNICEF: Since the start of the truce in Gaza, an average of one child has been killed every day Peace and Security
In the Gaza Strip, since the ceasefire was declared in October 2025, 265 children have died as a result of violence. This was stated by the representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), James Elder, speaking via video link from Amman at a briefing in Geneva.
“During what was supposed to be a time for restraint and protection [of the civilian population], an average of one child was killed every day for more than eight months,” Elder said. “This is an absurd and tragic figure.”
Children are dying at home and on the street
He stressed that the children did not die on the battlefield, but in their homes, in schools, while playing football or fishing. “They were shot at, bombed, and struck by drones,” the representative said UNICEF.
According to the Gaza health authorities, since the beginning of the truce in the enclave, almost a thousand Palestinians have been killed and more than 3,100 injured.
Elder drew attention to the danger of being near the so-called “yellow” and “orange” lines, indicating the zones of Israeli control strength.
“You only have to sneeze near the orange line and you could get shot,” he said.
“Total lack of accountability”
According to a UNICEF representative, one of the reasons why so many people are dying is the uncertainty of borders zones control and “complete lack of accountability”.
He noted that Israeli forces were responsible for the “vast majority” of deaths – more than 90 percent.
The UN and its partners have repeatedly warned of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war that began after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Today there are approximately 1.9 million internally displaced people in Gaza, many of whom have been forced to flee their homes multiple times. More than 1.2 million people have completely lost their homes.
According to the World Health Organization, there is not a single fully functioning hospital left in Gaza. UNICEF stresses that for 1.1 million children, access to clean water remains a daily challenge.He said the scale of suffering experienced by Palestinian children is “almost unparalleled in our lifetime.”
Help is coming, but obstacles remain
Speaking at the Security Council yesterday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said that the proportion of cases in which Israeli authorities turn away humanitarian organizations in conducting missions, has fallen from 31 percent before the ceasefire took effect to 11 percent now.
However, he stressed, Gazans are still deprived of what “everyone would require for their own family: security, housing, clean water, medical care and education.”
James Elder explained that while some fuel to run generators is coming into the enclave, Israeli authorities do not allow the import of spare parts to repair equipment and lubricants needed to operate it.
Waste continues accumulate
Garbage disposal remains another serious problem. As Jens Laerke, a representative of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), noted, huge volumes of solid waste continue to accumulate in the sector. Geneva.