UNICEF says more than 100 children killed in Gaza since ceasefire

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 100 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire agreement came into effect in October, despite the announced truce.

UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in a video press briefing from Gaza on Tuesday: “That’s roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a ceasefire.” He added that the halt in fighting has not been complete and that civilians remain at risk.

Elder explained that most of the deaths were caused by Israeli military attacks, including air strikes, drone strikes, tank shelling and direct gunfire. He also referred to deaths caused by explosions of unexploded ordnance left behind by the war.

He said children are facing extremely difficult humanitarian conditions, with ongoing shortages of basic services and aid, and the collapse of most healthcare, education and child protection systems. He warned that the real number of victims may be higher due to difficulties in documenting cases in several areas of the Strip.

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Elder warned that two years of war have “left life for Gaza’s children unimaginably hard.”

UNICEF renewed its warning that Gaza remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for children, calling for the protection of civilians and for humanitarian aid to be allowed in without restrictions.

“A ceasefire that slows the bombs is progress, but one that still buries children is not enough,” he concluded.

Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces, with US and European support, have carried out what Palestinian sources describe as acts of genocide in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, displacement and arrests, while ignoring international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to stop the war.

The campaign has left about 243,000 Palestinians killed or wounded, most of them children and women, with more than 11,000 reported missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, while famine has claimed many lives, mainly children, alongside widespread destruction that has erased most cities and areas of the Gaza Strip.

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