At least 300 children in Gaza have been reportedly killed in the 300 days since a ceasefire agreement came into effect 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 but has failed to protect children, UNICEF said on Thursday, August 6, 2026.

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 waiting for the promised end to violence.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), citing Gazan health authorities, reported that since the ceasefire announcement, 1,209 people have been killed and 3,943 injured in total.

Amid a recent spike in Israeli airstrikes targeting alleged Hamas positions and reports of a new United States-led peace plan, UNICEF highlighted that families in Gaza are now confined to roughly one third of the Strip. They are sheltering among destroyed buildings, rubble, and uncleared waste.

The agency noted ongoing military operations near the so-called 'Yellow Line'—a separation barrier of concrete blocks erected by Israeli soldiers—along with strikes in other parts of Gaza. These actions are disrupting civilian life, damaging shelters, causing renewed displacement, and restricting 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 continue, with recent work 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.

More than 250,000 pre-school and school-aged children are participating in summer learning activities aimed at providing routine and stability while helping students recover some of the education lost during hostilities.

Sources