At least 67 Palestinian Children Killed in Gaza Since Ceasefire Took Effect, UNICEF Says:

At least 67 Palestinian children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the United States-brokered ceasefire came into effect last month, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported on Friday, highlighting what it called a “staggering” pattern of continued violence despite the truce. Speaking at a news conference in Geneva, UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires said the latest child fatalities include a baby girl who died on Thursday when an Israeli air strike hit a home in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. A day earlier, seven other children were killed as Israel launched a series of strikes across the besieged enclave. “This is during an agreed ceasefire. The pattern is staggering,” Pires said, stressing that the casualties recorded since October 11, the first full day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, represent far more than statistics. “Each was a child with a family, a dream, a life – suddenly cut short by continued violence.” A Heavy Toll on Gaza’s Children Children remain among the most vulnerable victims of the conflict. UNICEF estimated last month that around 64,000 children have been killed or injured since the war began in October 2023, in what it has repeatedly described as one of the worst child-protection crises in modern history. Adding to these alarming figures, Save the Children reported this week that an average of 475 Palestinian children every month in 2024 were left with lifelong disabilities, including traumatic brain injuries, amputations, and severe burns. The organisation said Gaza has now become “home to the largest cohort of child amputees in modern history”. Humanitarian groups further warn that Israel’s tight restrictions on aid flow into Gaza have led to acute shortages of food, medicine, and shelter materials. Israel has been widely accused of using starvation as a weapon of war—a charge it denies—while doctors report several hunger-related child deaths in recent months. Renewed Strikes Amid Ceasefire Despite the truce, hostilities have continued. Earlier this week, the Israeli military launched a series of air strikes across Gaza, which it said were carried out in response to an incident in Khan Younis where Israeli troops were allegedly fired upon. Hamas has rejected Israel’s account, calling the strikes “a dangerous escalation” and evidence the Israeli government intends “to resume the genocide.” At least 32 Palestinians were killed in the latest strikes, according to local authorities and humanitarian groups. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said its teams in Gaza recently treated multiple women and children suffering from open fractures and gunshot wounds to the limbs and head. Zaher, an MSF nurse from a mobile clinic in Gaza City, reported treating a woman with a severe leg injury and a nine-year-old girl who was shot in the face by drone fire. At al-Shifa Hospital, patient Mohammed Malaka described the moments following an air strike: “I opened my eyes and saw my father on the ground, and my three brothers covered in blood. Dust was everywhere… people were screaming, tents turned to ashes, bodies on the ground.” Humanitarian Conditions Worsen as Winter Approaches Beyond the violence, Gaza’s humanitarian conditions remain dire. With Israel restricting the entry of essential supplies, thousands of displaced families lack even basic shelter. UNICEF’s Pires said many children are “sleeping in the open,” exposed to cold, rain, and flooding in makeshift camps. “For hundreds of thousands of children living in tents over the rubble of their former homes, the new winter season is a threat multiplier,” he said. “Children are shivering through the night with no heating, no insulation, and too few blankets.” Pires urged the international community to intensify pressure for greater humanitarian access, warning that “there is no safe place for children in Gaza, and the world cannot continue to normalise their suffering.”

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