UNICEF: One Child Dies on Average Every Day in Gaza Since 'Ceasefire'

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on August 7 that at least 300 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip in the roughly 300 days since the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was announced on October 10, 2025 — an average of one child death per day.

According to UNICEF, hundreds of other children have been injured, many seriously. The agency called on parties involved in the US-proposed peace plan to turn commitments into concrete action.

Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, stressed: "A ceasefire that results in the death of a child every day on average is failing children. The children of Gaza are still waiting for the end of the violence they were promised."

UNICEF said families are now crowded into about one-third of the territory, living amid destroyed buildings, rubble, and uncollected waste. Children continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe water, and damaged sanitation systems. A shortage of incubators has forced some premature infants to share equipment.

According to Gaza's health authorities, Israel's military campaign there has killed more than 73,300 Palestinians since October 2023. UNICEF said more than 58,000 children have lost one or both parents, while over a million children require protection and psychosocial support. The agency previously estimated that about 17,000 children are unaccompanied or separated from their families — one of the most severe child protection crises.

In an airstrike west of Gaza City on August 2, residents found the remains of an unborn fetus in the rubble after the attack killed a pregnant woman, her husband, and their 5-year-old son.

Beyond physical dangers, aid workers describe a generation being robbed of childhood. As the third summer of war unfolds, many children spend their days fetching water, queuing for food, and collecting firewood instead of playing, while summer camps, art supplies, and paper and pencils remain scarce in displacement camps.

A UNICEF assessment in May found that young children lack the safe, stimulating environment needed for early development, while school-age children face prolonged learning disruptions unlikely to recover without targeted support.

Jonathan Crickx, UNICEF's communication chief in Palestine, argued: "Play is how children reclaim what war has taken" — this activity is essential, not a luxury.

Beigbeder welcomed recent announcements of steps toward ending the conflict and increasing aid, but questioned: "For the children of Gaza, the test is simple. Will the killing stop? Will aid arrive at the scale needed? Will hospitals reopen and water flow?"

This week, UNICEF delivered more than 600 pallets of school supplies and soap ahead of the school year expected to begin within the next two weeks.