GAZA CITY, Palestine: More than 100 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza since the start of a fragile ceasefire three months ago, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
The UN children’s agency UNICEF said at least 60 boys and 40 girls had been killed in Israeli attacks in the Palestinian territory since early October.
“More than 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire,” UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva, speaking from Gaza City.
“That’s roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a ceasefire,” the UNICEF spokesman said.
Elder said the children were killed by Israeli airstrikes, drone strikes — including suicide drones — tank shelling, and live ammunition. He added that the true number was likely higher.
“A ceasefire that slows the bombs is progress, but one that still buries children is not enough,” he said.
Local authorities report higher figures
Meanwhile, an official at Gaza’s health ministry, which maintains casualty records, reported higher figures.
Zaher Al-Wahidi, director of the ministry’s computer department, told AFP that 165 children had been killed during the ceasefire, out of a total of 442 deaths.
He added that seven children had also died from exposure to cold since the beginning of the year.
Elder said the deaths were occurring after more than two years of war that had left Gaza’s children “unimaginably hard” conditions.
He said fear remained widespread and psychological trauma largely untreated.
“The psychological damage remains untreated, and it’s becoming deeper and harder to heal the longer this goes on,” he said.
Destruction and aid restrictions
In November, authorities in Gaza said more than 71,000 people had been killed since the start of Israel’s war on October 7, 2023.
UN data show that nearly 80 percent of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged.
On January 1, Israel suspended 37 international aid agencies from accessing Gaza, a move the UN at the time described as “outrageous”.
“Blocking international NGOs, blocking any humanitarian aid, means blocking life-saving assistance,” Elder said.
While UNICEF has increased aid deliveries since October, he said access remains far below what is needed.
“You need partners on the ground, and it still doesn’t meet the need,” he said. “It’s impossible to overstate just how much still is required to be done here.”
He added that Israeli restrictions on aid groups and foreign journalists raised concerns about limiting scrutiny of the suffering of children.
Storm kills displaced Palestinians
Meanwhile, a severe rainstorm swept across the Gaza Strip, flooding hundreds of tents and collapsing homes sheltering displaced families, killing at least six people, according to local health officials.
Medics said five people — including two women and a girl — were killed when homes collapsed near Gaza City’s beach.
A one-year-old boy died from extreme cold in a tent in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza.
Residents tried to reinforce damaged shelters as floodwaters rose.
“We didn’t realise what was happening until the wall started collapsing,” said Bassel Hamuda, a displaced man in Gaza. “Because of the speed and force of the wind, the wall fell on top of us, onto three tents.”
Political developments
Meanwhile, Hamas said it had instructed all government bodies in Gaza to prepare for the transfer of administrative responsibilities to the proposed independent Palestinian technocratic authority.
In a televised statement, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said the move followed an announcement by US President Donald Trump of plans to establish a Peace Council for Gaza.
He said Hamas had issued instructions to facilitate the handover under an agreement reached in Sharm El-Sheikh.
