UNICEF flags 300 dead children in Gaza since 'ceasefire' announcement — without mentioning Israel

The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund — UNICEF — has reported that at least 300 children in besieged Gaza have been killed since the so-called "ceasefire" took effect in October 2025, refrained from directly naming Israel.

In its statement on Thursday, UNICEF said that this number amounts to an average of one child being killed a day, in violation of what has been a one-sided ceasefire that also obligates the full entry of humanitarian aid.

"With hundreds more children injured, many severely, children in Gaza are still waiting for the end to the violence they were promised," UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder said, adding the "truce" is "failing children" there.

Beigbeder said the recent announcements in recent days laying out a roadmap for the "ceasefire's" next phase must be translated into action.

"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," Beigbeder said.

Israel has violated Gaza ceasefire more than 3,795 times since the agreement went into effect, killing at least 1,254 Palestinians in near-daily attacks since October 10, 2025.

'They must protect children'

UNICEF, based in New York, also added in its statement that Palestinian families in Gaza are crowded into roughly a third of the blockaded enclave, sheltering in unsafe conditions among the ruins of Gaza caused by indiscriminate Israeli bombardment.

It said that children across the blockaded enclave continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe water and destroyed or damaged sanitation systems.

It called on all parties to comply with the one-sided truce so that children could be protected and receive the aid they need.

"UNICEF calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law," UNICEF said.

"They must protect children, safeguard their access to essential goods and services, including healthcare, education, safe water and food, and allow and facilitate safe, rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to children in need."

Israel has killed over 73,000 Palestinians, including over 20,000 children, in its genocide in Gaza since October 2023. Analysts say this figure is an undercount and that the actual death toll could be three times higher.