UNICEF warns Gaza’s children face deadly strikes and winter dangers despite ceasefire

More than 340 children have reportedly been killed and hundreds injured in the little over a year since the ceasefire was announced, according to the agency.

Children in Gaza continue to be killed and seriously injured despite an agreed ceasefire, UNICEF has warned, reporting that five boys and two girls died in air strikes, drone strikes and gunfire across the Strip over two weeks. At least 33 children suffered serious injuries, and two other boys died from wounds sustained earlier.

More than 340 children have reportedly been killed and hundreds injured in the little over a year since the ceasefire was announced, according to the agency. A newly released UNICEF report describes the continuing damage to children's lives, with displacement, bereavement and failing services leaving families struggling to recover as another winter approaches.

Displacement and loss reshape everyday childhood

Around 800,000 children remain displaced, most sheltering in tents or damaged buildings that offer little protection. UNICEF estimates that 60,000 children have lost one or both parents during the war or since the ceasefire, and nearly every child needs some form of mental health support.

Children are approaching a fourth year of living in dire conditions, with damaged tents, inadequate sanitation and overcrowded makeshift homes shaping where they sleep, eat, study and play. For 16-year-old Norhan, the loss of her mother brought responsibilities that now fill her days. Her mother was shot when she was eight months pregnant, delivered her baby and died the following day.

Norhan's father lives with a disability, and she has taken responsibility for caring for her one-year-old sister, Narjis. She cooks, tidies their home and plays with the baby, then helps her three other siblings with their studies after they return from a UNICEF-supported learning centre. She hopes education will give them a future. Her own dream is to become a pharmacist, an ambition she still holds without expecting it to happen.

Aid reaches families as essential systems remain broken

The ceasefire has allowed more humanitarian assistance and commercial supplies into Gaza, improving food security. UNICEF says these gains have helped families survive, but essential services remain far from restored.

More than 560,000 children have returned to learning since the ceasefire, including through over 200 UNICEF-supported learning centres. The agency says it has provided digital cash assistance to more than 380,000 people this year and continues supplying safe water to 1.2 million people, alongside waste removal and deliveries of medical supplies.

All six wastewater treatment plants remain out of service. Much of the untreated sewage is pumped directly into the sea, affecting miles of coastline, and large pools of wastewater pose further dangers as winter rain approaches.

The Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin is half-full, raising concerns that contaminated water could overflow into residential areas downstream. UNICEF warned that such flooding could threaten children's lives, noting that children have previously drowned in sewage-contaminated water.

The agency says the basin could be drained within two weeks, but Israel has not allowed the necessary equipment into Gaza. Families in damaged shelters and crowded displacement sites face growing uncertainty about surviving the cold and rain.

UNICEF calls for protection and the means to rebuild

UNICEF is calling for a real ceasefire, full implementation of the peace plan and protection for children in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. It urged Member States to put children first and parties to the conflict to uphold the ceasefire, UN Security Council Resolution 2803 and their obligations under international humanitarian law.

The agency called on Israeli authorities to permit the entry of materials, equipment and technical supplies needed to repair infrastructure and restore essential services. Spare parts, generators and engine oil are needed at scale to sustain services that still operate.

UNICEF stressed the need for flexible, predictable and sustained support to reach children and families facing extensive needs. For children, recovery means returning to school, seeing friends, receiving health care and having a secure home where they can live with dignity. It means being able to play safely and trust that the people they love will remain beside them.

UNICEF urged decision-makers to listen to Gaza's children and make those ordinary parts of childhood possible again.