At least 300 Palestinian children have reportedly been killed in the Gaza Strip during the 300 days since a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, UNICEF said.

The figure equates to an average of one Palestinian child killed every day, while hundreds more have reportedly been injured, many suffering life-altering wounds. The continued loss of children's lives has raised renewed concerns over the humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave, where families remain trapped amid widespread destruction and severe shortages of basic necessities.

"A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children," said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder. He stressed that despite the announcement of a ceasefire nearly 10 months ago, Palestinian children in Gaza are still waiting for the end of the violence they were promised.

The humanitarian agency said that displaced families are now confined to roughly one-third of the Gaza Strip, where they are forced to shelter in unsafe conditions surrounded by destroyed buildings, mountains of rubble and accumulating waste. Children continue to endure acute malnutrition, the spread of preventable diseases, unsafe drinking water and severely damaged sanitation infrastructure, while access to healthcare and education remains critically limited.

UNICEF noted that recent announcements outlining the next phase of the ceasefire have provided renewed hope by proposing measures aimed at ending hostilities and significantly expanding humanitarian relief operations.

"This offers new hope and a chance to finally stop children being killed," Beigbeder said. "For children in Gaza, the test is simple. Does the killing stop? Does aid reach them at scale? Do hospitals reopen and water flow? Will children return to school safely in September? Children have heard promises before. This time, agreements must translate into action."

The agency emphasized that meaningful implementation of the ceasefire is essential to ending the suffering of Gaza's children, who continue to bear the brunt of the devastating consequences of Israel's military campaign and the prolonged humanitarian crisis.

UNICEF called on all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law by ensuring the protection of children, safeguarding their access to essential services—including healthcare, education, food and safe water—and allowing the safe, rapid and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to civilians across the Gaza Strip.

The agency reiterated that the lives and future of Gaza's children depend not on political declarations alone, but on immediate and sustained action to end the violence, restore essential services and guarantee unrestricted humanitarian access to those in desperate need. (ILKHA)