The United Nations Children’s Fund, widely known as UNICEF, has disclosed that more than 100 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire agreement came into effect in early October, underscoring continued dangers faced by civilians despite a reduction in large-scale hostilities.
Okay News reports that the revelation was made during a United Nations media briefing, where UNICEF spokesperson, James Elder, spoke to journalists via a video link from Gaza, a densely populated Palestinian territory along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea that has remained a focal point of the Israel–Palestine conflict.
According to Elder, “more than 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire of early October.” He added that although the ceasefire slowed down heavy military activity, it has failed to bring complete safety to civilians, particularly children.
“Survival remains conditional, whilst the bombings and the shootings have slowed, have reduced during the ceasefire, they have not stopped,” Elder stated, emphasizing that intermittent violence continues to claim young lives.
He explained that the fatalities included approximately 60 boys and 40 girls, with most deaths resulting from military actions such as air strikes, drone attacks, tank shelling, gunfire, and quadcopter assaults. A smaller number of children, he said, were killed by unexploded remnants of war that detonated after being left behind from previous attacks.
The UNICEF spokesperson cautioned that the reported figures likely do not represent the full scale of the tragedy, noting that the tally only accounts for cases where sufficient information was available for verification.
UNICEF, the United Nations agency mandated to protect children’s rights and welfare worldwide, has repeatedly warned that children in Gaza continue to face life-threatening risks due to ongoing military operations, destroyed infrastructure, and limited humanitarian access.
The latest disclosure reinforces growing international concern that the ceasefire has not translated into lasting protection for civilians, particularly children, who remain among the most vulnerable victims of the prolonged conflict.
