Over 950 children killed in Gaza in two months: UNICEF

CAIRO – 25 May 2025: The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has reported that more than 950 children have been killed in Gaza due to Israeli strikes over the past two months.

“This must stop. Children must be protected,” stated the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in a post on X on Sunday, referencing UNICEF's data.

“They are starving, displaced, and exposed to indiscriminate attacks.”

 

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, Israeli strikes have killed nearly 54,000 people, including over 16,500 children, according to Gaza's health ministry.

Among these children, 916 were under one year old; 4,365 were between 1-5 years; 6,101 were between 6-12 years; and 5,124 were between 13-17 years.

Last week, Israeli forces launched a new operation in Gaza, intensifying strikes and ground operations with the stated goals of seizing control of the entire enclave, securing the release of remaining Israeli captives, eliminating Hamas, and expelling all residents to outside the Palestinian territory.

Additionally, the Israeli government had blocked the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza for nearly three months, leaving one in five people in the strip facing starvation, according to UN estimates.

In response to mounting pressure from the global community, including some of Israel’s closest European allies, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began allowing aid into Gaza last week.

However, the UN has criticized the insufficient number of aid trucks entering, describing them as a “drop in the ocean.”