Children Killed as Strikes Damage Gaza Water Facility and Nutrition Supplies

Children in the Gaza Strip are facing another devastating stretch of violence, with at least four children reported killed and several others seriously injured over five days, while damage to humanitarian facilities is cutting families off from nutrition assistance and safe drinking water. UNICEF says the latest incidents show how children are being harmed not only by direct attacks, but also by the destruction of the basic services they need to survive in communities already struggling with severe shortages of food, water and other essentials.

Among those reported killed were two boys, just two and four years old, who died in separate strikes, while a 10-year-old girl was reportedly hit by ground fire while inside her tent. A 16-year-old boy also died after suffering serious injuries in an earlier strike. Several more children sustained potentially life-changing wounds on 25 August, when three children aged eight, ten and seventeen were reportedly hit by live ammunition, while two 11-year-olds were injured by shrapnel following strikes.

Nutrition Supplies for Thousands of Children Destroyed

The violence has also reached humanitarian supplies intended for some of Gaza's most vulnerable families. On 25 August, a warehouse containing more than US$770,000 worth of UNICEF nutrition supplies was destroyed following a nearby strike, wiping out assistance that had been intended to support more than 40,500 children between six and 23 months old and around 4,900 pregnant and breastfeeding women.

The loss comes at a time when access to adequate nutrition is especially important for young children, whose development and health can deteriorate rapidly when nutritious food becomes scarce or repeated illness weakens their bodies. Destroying such a large quantity of supplies creates consequences far beyond the physical loss of a warehouse, since every package represented planned assistance for children and mothers living through an already severe humanitarian crisis.

"Children are being killed and injured, while those who survive are seeing essential services and supplies that they depend on destroyed," said UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder, who warned that damage to vital supplies and services is deepening the suffering of families trying to survive.

Damage to Water Facility Leaves Thousands Without a Vital Lifeline

Another critical facility was severely damaged on 24 August when a nearby strike hit a UNICEF-supported water well and desalination facility in the Deir Al Balah area. More than 4,000 people depend on the facility for safe drinking water, including around 2,000 children, making its loss particularly serious during the peak summer months when dehydration, poor sanitation and waterborne diseases can create additional risks.

UNICEF and its partners are using emergency water trucks to supply affected families while the facility remains unable to operate, yet temporary deliveries cannot erase the wider pressure on Gaza's damaged water system. UNICEF reports that around 70 per cent of the territory's water and sanitation infrastructure has been damaged, while 63 per cent of people cannot access even six litres of drinking water per person each day.

For children, limited clean water can quickly become a health emergency because safe water is needed for drinking, preparing food, maintaining hygiene and preventing diseases that can spread rapidly where sanitation systems have been disrupted. Families already coping with displacement and shortages are being forced to manage daily survival with fewer functioning services around them.

UNICEF Calls for Protection of Children and Essential Civilian Services

The deaths and injuries of children, combined with damage to nutrition and water infrastructure, have renewed UNICEF's call for children and the civilian systems supporting their survival to be protected. The agency is urging full respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, including safeguards for children's lives and rights and protection for civilian infrastructure and essential services.

UNICEF is also calling for rapid, safe and unimpeded humanitarian access so essential assistance can reach families who need it. With children facing direct physical danger while food, nutrition assistance, water and sanitation services are simultaneously being disrupted, protecting humanitarian supplies and keeping essential infrastructure functioning have become inseparable from protecting children's lives.