Gaza: The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has documented the reported deaths of at least 300 children in the Gaza Strip during the 300 days since the ceasefire came into effect last October.
According to Qatar News Agency, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, stated that the ceasefire is failing children, with an average of one child dying every day. He emphasized that hundreds of other children have been injured, many seriously, and that Gaza's children are still waiting for the promised end to the violence.
UNICEF reported that families are now confined to around one-third of the Gaza Strip, living in unsafe conditions amid destroyed buildings, rubble, and accumulating solid waste. Across the Strip, children continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe drinking water, and damaged sanitation systems.
The agency called on all parties to uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law. UNICEF stressed the need to protect children, ensure their access to essential goods and services, including healthcare, education, safe drinking water, and food, and facilitate safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access to children in need.