The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned this Friday that, since the ceasefire agreed on October 10, 2025, between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), an average of one Palestinian child has died per day in the Gaza Strip as a result of attacks carried out by the Israeli Army against the enclave.
"A little over a year since the ceasefire was announced, it has been reported that during this time more than 340 children have died and hundreds more have been injured," indicated UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires, who specified that in the last two weeks seven minors have lost their lives and another 33 have been "seriously injured" by Israeli attacks. "Two other children have died from injuries sustained earlier," he added.
"Especially for families mourning the loss of their children, these terrible figures do not correspond to what most people understand by a ceasefire," Pires emphasized, lamenting "the enormous human cost of a war that continues to devastate children, taking away their lives, childhood, and future."
The spokesperson clarified that "about 800,000 children remain displaced and most live in tents or in buildings destroyed by bombings that are dangerous," while "it is estimated that 60,000 children in Gaza have lost one or both parents, who have died during the war or since the ceasefire."
"Virtually all children need some type of mental health support to recover," Pires noted, warning that "these children are facing a fourth year struggling to survive in extreme conditions" with the arrival of a new winter. "They live in damaged tents, without sanitation and crowded into any space their families can find to improvise a home," he described.
In this context, he indicated that, although the ceasefire "has allowed for greater entry of humanitarian aid and commercial supplies into the Strip" and has resulted in some improvement in food security, "for the children of Gaza the consequences of the war permeate all aspects of daily life: where they sleep, what they eat, whether they can learn, whether they feel safe enough to play, and whether the people they love are still by their side."
Pires has detailed that, despite the fact that so far this year more than 560,000 minors have resumed their education, basic services are still "far" from being restored, including water supply, solid waste management, and healthcare. "This work is fundamental and saves lives," he emphasized.
"This is the case with networks and sanitation systems. The six wastewater treatment plants remain out of service. Most of the untreated wastewater is pumped directly into the sea, affecting many kilometers of coastline," explained the UNICEF spokesperson, who cited as an example the wastewater pond in the city of Gaza that "is at half of its capacity" and could face serious problems with winter rains.
"As we warned a year ago, contaminated water could overflow and flood the residential areas located further down, with consequences that could endanger the lives of children and their families. There have already been children who have drowned in water contaminated with wastewater," he recalled, before specifying that, although "the pond could be emptied in two weeks," Israel "has still not allowed the entry of the necessary equipment into Gaza."
Severe resource deficit and call for an effective ceasefire
In this scenario, Pires has stressed that "the needs are enormous and funding is far below what is necessary," and has argued that "having flexible, predictable, and sustained resources and funding is essential to reach children and their families."
"Families living in damaged shelters and in overcrowded displaced persons' reception places are increasingly worried about the survival of their children in the face of intense cold and rain," he warned, before emphasizing that the minors in Gaza aspire to a future in which "they can live their childhood, as they have the right to do."
"For this to be a reality, they need a real ceasefire and the full implementation of the peace plan, now. Children need security and protection, both in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as well as in Israel. They need to recover, start to heal, and return to a normal life," he stated.
In this line, he has insisted that "Israeli authorities must allow the entry of the materials, equipment, and technical supplies necessary to rehabilitate the infrastructures and restore essential services," warning that "without the entry of spare parts, generators, and motor oil in sufficient quantities, they will not even be able to maintain the services that are still functioning."
"It is necessary for the parties in the conflict to comply with the terms of the ceasefire," Pires has claimed, who has also asked to "listen to the voices of the children of Gaza" and redouble efforts so that they can regain normalcy. "The boys and girls of Gaza have suffered too much and for too long," he concluded.