UNICEF warns over 340 Gaza children killed and hundreds injured despite ceasefire

UNICEF says that a little over one year after a cease‑fire was announced, more than 340 children have been killed in Gaza. In the most recent two‑week period, five boys and two girls were reported dead and at least 33 children were seriously injured by airstrikes, drone strikes and gunfire. Two additional boys have died from injuries sustained earlier. UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires stressed that the cease‑fire has not translated into a reduction of child fatalities, underscoring the continued vulnerability of children in the conflict.

UNICEF estimates that 800,000 children are displaced, most of them living in tents or damaged, bomb‑ruined buildings. About 60,000 children have lost one or both parents during the war, creating a profound need for mental‑health support. The agency has provided safe water to roughly 1.2 million people, yet the drainage network remains severely damaged, leaving large pools of wastewater that could overflow with the approaching winter rains. Families are filling flour bags with sand to keep rain out of their shelters, highlighting the growing risk of water‑borne hazards.

Through more than 200 UNICEF‑supported learning centres, over 560,000 children have been able to return to education since the cease‑fire, offering a degree of normalcy amid chaos. Digital cash assistance, described by UNICEF as a lifeline, has reached over 380,000 people, helping families purchase essential goods. UNICEF stresses that uninterrupted flow of humanitarian and commercial supplies is critical as winter approaches, warning that contaminated water could inundate residential areas and pose life‑threatening risks for children and their families.