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More than 340 children have reportedly been killed and hundreds more injured in Gaza since a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel was announced a little over a year ago, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
“For families mourning the loss of their children, those terrible statistics do not equate with a ceasefire,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told journalists in Geneva.
Over the past two weeks alone, five boys and two girls have reportedly been killed in Gaza, while at least 33 children have suffered serious injuries in airstrikes, drone strikes and gunfire across the enclave. Two other boys have died from injuries sustained earlier, Pires said.
The impact of the war on children is evident in every aspect of their lives, including where they sleep, what they eat and whether they can access education, he added.
Pires highlighted the story of Norhan, a 16-year-old girl whose mother was shot while eight months pregnant. Her mother gave birth but died the following day.
As Norhan’s father lives with a disability, she has taken responsibility for caring for her one-year-old sister, Narjis. She spends her days cleaning the home, cooking and looking after the toddler. Her three other siblings attend a UNICEF-supported learning centre, and Norhan helps them with their studies after class.
As Pires recounted, Norhan believes education offers her siblings a chance of a better future: “They might just have a future.”
The UNICEF spokesperson also stressed the need to maintain an uninterrupted flow of humanitarian and commercial goods into Gaza, following reports that private traders had halted cooperation with Israeli authorities over the entry of commercial trucks carrying food.
Such supplies remain essential for children and families to continue their recovery, he said.
Recalling his visit to Gaza City before the ceasefire, Pires said supplies had been unable to enter the enclave at a time when famine had been declared by UN-backed food insecurity experts.
“We can’t go back to a situation where children and families are not getting all the supplies, goods and services that they require,” he said, stressing the need to ensure that children receive what they need to survive and retain hope for the future.
### Winter brings further risks
The UNICEF warning comes as temperatures fall and displaced families face deteriorating living conditions. Some are filling empty flour bags with sand to prevent rainwater from entering their tents.
Aid agencies continue to warn that conditions in Gaza remain dire after three years of war, which was triggered by Hamas-led attacks in Israel.
The worsening sanitation crisis is another major concern. Israeli bombardment has severely damaged the enclave’s drainage network, leaving large pools of wastewater in residential areas.
Pires cited the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin, which he said was half-full, warning that time was running out to pump out the water before winter rains arrived.
He cautioned that contaminated water could overflow and flood downstream residential areas, posing potentially life-threatening risks to children and their families. Children have drowned in sewage-contaminated water in the past, he added.
According to UNICEF, around 800,000 children remain displaced in Gaza, most living in tents or unsafe buildings damaged by bombardment.
An estimated 60,000 children have lost one or both parents during the war or since the ceasefire, while nearly every child needs some form of mental health support to recover from the trauma.
### UNICEF expands support
Despite the challenges, UNICEF has continued providing assistance to children and families across Gaza.
Since the ceasefire, the agency has helped more than 560,000 children return to learning, including through over 200 UNICEF-supported learning centres.
It has also provided digital cash assistance to more than 380,000 people, which Pires described as a lifeline, and supplied safe water to 1.2 million people.
UNICEF stressed that continued access to essential supplies, safe water, education and humanitarian assistance remains critical to protecting children and helping families recover. Source: UN News