At least 300 children have been reportedly killed in Gaza during the 300 days since a ceasefire agreement was announced on 10 October 2025, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The ceasefire was intended to suspend military operations between Hamas fighters and the Israel Defense Forces.

Citing Gazan health authorities, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported a total of 1,209 people killed and 3,943 injured since the ceasefire began. UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, stated, “A ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead each and every day is failing children.” He added that hundreds more children have been injured, many severely, and are still awaiting an end to the violence.

UNICEF highlighted that families in Gaza are now confined to approximately one third of the Strip, sheltering amid destroyed buildings, rubble, and uncleared waste. The agency noted that ongoing military operations near the so-called ‘Yellow Line’—a separation barrier made of concrete blocks erected by Israeli soldiers—along with strikes in other parts of Gaza, continue to disrupt civilian life, damage shelters, cause renewed displacement, and restrict access to life-saving services.

Last weekend, attacks on a medical storage facility next to Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah destroyed essential medical supplies, including some delivered by the UN World Health Organization (WHO).

Humanitarian efforts have included improving 3,000 makeshift shelters in Gaza City and distributing emergency shelter and essential items such as kitchen sets, tarpaulins, blankets, mattresses, solar lights, and clothes to 9,000 households. Additionally, more than 250,000 pre-school and school-aged children are participating in summer learning activities aimed at providing routine and helping students recover learning lost during hostilities.

Amid reports of a new United States-led peace plan and a recent increase in Israeli airstrikes on alleged Hamas targets, UNICEF stressed the urgent need for an end to the violence and restoration of basic services for children and families in Gaza.

Sources

UN News: Gaza: 300 children killed in 300 days of Israeli-Hamas ‘ceasefire’