DaysofPal- A senior UNICEF official has delivered a stark indictment of the situation in Gaza, warning that the so-called ceasefire in the territory has failed to protect children and has instead become a “cruel and deadly illusion.”
Speaking at a press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said that despite the announcement of a ceasefire in October 2025, Palestinian children continue to be killed at an alarming and sustained rate.
According to UNICEF figures cited by Elder, 265 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire was declared. That figure, he noted, translates to an average of one child killed every day for more than eight months, a pattern he said exposes the gap between political language and lived reality on the ground.
Elder stressed that these deaths are not occurring in traditional battlefields but in places normally associated with safety and childhood: homes, schools, tents, and open streets. Children, he said, have been killed while playing, sleeping, or going about daily life, struck by gunfire, airstrikes, or drone attacks.
He argued that the continued death toll raises serious questions about the meaning of the ceasefire itself. “If a child is killed every day,” he suggested, “the issue is no longer the quality of the ceasefire, but whether it can be called a ceasefire at all.”
The UNICEF spokesperson also highlighted recent incidents involving young children killed or injured in Gaza, including cases of toddlers and school-aged children caught in strikes or shot inside shelters. He said more than 400 children have been injured during the same period, many with life-threatening or life-altering wounds.
Medical consequences, he warned, are severe. Hospitals are treating traumatic brain injuries, chest and abdominal wounds, and complex cases requiring urgent evacuation. At the same time, shortages of essential medicines are worsening suffering and increasing the risk of complications, including amputations.
Trauma as the New Normal
Beyond physical injuries, Elder placed strong emphasis on psychological trauma. He described fear, loss, and violence as constant conditions in Gaza, arguing that trauma is no longer an event but part of children’s everyday existence. This chronic stress, he said, is now affecting children’s ability to eat, sleep, and develop normally, contributing to rising malnutrition and long-term psychological harm.
UNICEF also warned that hundreds of children require urgent medical evacuation, but restrictions and limited access to treatment continue to delay life-saving care.
Elder concluded that the situation reflects not only a humanitarian crisis, but a failure of political will and accountability. He said the persistence of child deaths without consequence risks normalizing violence against children.
“No ceasefire can be considered meaningful,” he implied, “while children continue to be killed.”
In a related reference, UNICEF also pointed to similar patterns of child casualties in Lebanon, where dozens of children have been killed or injured during recent escalations, underscoring that the crisis affecting children is not confined to Gaza alone.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=75646
