GENEVA/Gaza City: The United Nations has reported that at least 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the start of a fragile ceasefire three months ago. Unicef said 60 boys and 40 girls lost their lives due to Israeli airstrikes, drone attacks, tank shelling, and live ammunition.
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“More than 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire,” Unicef spokesman James Elder told reporters. He added that the true figure could be higher, emphasizing that “a ceasefire that slows the bombs is progress but one that still buries children is not enough.”
Gaza’s health ministry reported an even higher toll of 165 children among 442 total fatalities during the ceasefire. Since the start of the conflict, local authorities estimate more than 70,000 people have been killed and nearly 80 per cent of buildings have been destroyed or damaged, according to UN data.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to join a US-led board under President Trump that would temporarily oversee Gaza, The Times reported. The first meeting is anticipated next week on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Adding to the humanitarian crisis, a severe rainstorm on Tuesday flooded hundreds of tent shelters, collapsed homes, and killed at least six people. Among the dead were two women, a girl, and a one-year-old boy. Families scrambled to save their possessions as tents were torn away and walls collapsed under the force of the wind.
Displaced resident Bassel Hamuda described the devastation: “An eight-meter-high wall fell on top of us, onto three tents. My father-in-law, my daughter-in-law, and my granddaughter were killed.”
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The ongoing combination of conflict, infrastructure destruction, and extreme weather continues to place civilians, especially children, in grave danger, underscoring the urgent need for humanitarian aid and durable solutions to protect the population.