GAZA Herald — At least 351 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), exposing the continuing deadly toll on children despite an agreement intended to halt the violence.
In a statement Thursday, UNICEF warned that Palestinian children remain exposed to deadly attacks, serious injuries, displacement,Gaza’s Children Still Under Fire: UNICEF Says 351 Killed by Israel Since Ceasefire Began
and severe psychological trauma, while Gaza’s devastated health care system struggles to provide the treatment and rehabilitation they desperately need.
Edward Beigbeder, UNICEF’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, urged Israeli authorities to take “decisive” measures to protect children and ensure “transparent and rigorous accountability” whenever children are killed or left with lifelong disabilities as a result of their injuries.
Eight Children Killed in Just Six Days
The latest UNICEF figures reveal that Israeli attacks killed eight Palestinian children and injured another 20 over the past six days alone, underscoring the continuing dangers facing children in Gaza.
“This level of violence against children is unacceptable,” Beigbeder said.
He called on Israel to implement effective measures to prevent further attacks, uphold the principle of distinction between civilians and combatants under international humanitarian law, and ensure that children receive the special protection guaranteed to them during armed conflict.
The UNICEF official also stressed the urgent need for accountability for attacks that kill or permanently disable children.
For those who survive, the consequences often extend far beyond their immediate injuries. Many face prolonged physical suffering and psychological trauma, with limited access to specialized medical treatment, rehabilitation, and mental health support amid the collapse of Gaza’s health care system.
800,000 Children Displaced, 60,000 Left Without One or Both Parents
Beyond the mounting death toll, Gaza’s children continue to endure a devastating humanitarian crisis marked by mass displacement, family separation, and the breakdown of essential services.
UNICEF reported last week that approximately 800,000 children remain displaced across the Gaza Strip, while an estimated 60,000 have lost one or both parents during the war or since the ceasefire took effect.
These figures reveal the enormous scale of the crisis facing a generation of Palestinian children, many of whom have experienced repeated displacement, the loss of loved ones, and the destruction of their homes and communities.
For children who have lost their parents, the consequences are especially severe, as they face the challenges of growing up without one or both primary caregivers amid widespread instability and severely limited access to basic services.
A Generation in Urgent Need of Psychological Support
UNICEF warned that the psychological consequences of the war have reached nearly every child in Gaza.
“Virtually every child now needs mental health and psychosocial support,” the agency said.
Repeated displacement, exposure to violence, the loss of family members, and the continuing deterioration of essential services have left children facing extraordinary emotional and psychological burdens.
At the same time, Gaza’s shattered health care system has severely limited access to the specialized care needed by children suffering from serious injuries, permanent disabilities, and psychological trauma.
The humanitarian crisis has made recovery increasingly difficult, even for children who have survived the immediate violence.
UNICEF Demands Protection and Accountability
UNICEF’s latest warning highlights the continuing gap between the protections guaranteed to children under international humanitarian law and the conditions Palestinian children face on the ground.
The agency called for decisive action to prevent further deaths and injuries, strict respect for international humanitarian law, and transparent accountability for violations affecting children.
The reported killing of 351 Palestinian children since the ceasefire began, alongside the displacement of hundreds of thousands and the loss of parents by tens of thousands more, underscores the devastating toll the continuing violence and humanitarian crisis have taken on Gaza’s youngest residents.
For Gaza’s children, the ceasefire has yet to deliver the safety, stability, and protection they urgently need.
