Israel killed 37 Palestinian children in this year’s attacks on Gaza: UNICEF
The United Nations children's agency UNICEF says at least 37 Palestinian children have been killed in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the start of 2026.
In a statement released on Friday, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder said that the situation remains “extremely precarious and deadly” for many children in Gaza despite a fragile ceasefire that ended Israel’s genocidal war on the besieged territory last October.
“Children continue to endure airstrikes, and are impacted by shattered health, water, and education systems,” he added.
“Since the beginning of the year, 37 children have been reported killed across the Gaza Strip.”
The UN official also underlined the need for the Gaza ceasefire to hold and bring an end to the suffering of Gaza children.
In January, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said that more than 100 Palestinian children, including 60 boys and 40 girls, have been killed across Gaza since the ceasefire came into force in October 2025.
More than 100 children have been killed in #Gaza since early October - roughly one every day - despite the ceasefire, @1james_elder of @UNICEF reports.
— United Nations Geneva (@UNGeneva) January 14, 2026
Airstrikes, drone attacks, tank shelling, and live ammunition continue to claim young lives.
📰https://t.co/C1EIRH6QkJ pic.twitter.com/EWiPeFaunt
He further emphasized that the figure is an underestimate, as the actual death toll among Palestinian children is expected to be higher.
“Life in Gaza remains suffocating. Survival is still conditional. Whilst the bombings and shooting have slowed during the ceasefire, they have not stopped,” he said.
Meanwhile, Elder highlighted the devastating impact of Israel’s brutal onslaught on education in Gaza, where roughly 90 percent of schools have been damaged or destroyed, leaving over 700,000 children without regular access to education.
The Gaza ceasefire deal between the Hamas resistance group and Israel took effect on October 10, 2025. The first phase began with the exchange of Israeli captives for Palestinian abductees, as well as the withdrawal of the occupation forces to the so-called yellow line.
Since then, however, Israel has kept bombing Gaza and expanded its occupation of the blockaded territory in violation of the ceasefire, killing at least 576 Palestinians and injuring 1,543 others.
The second phase, which was announced last month, involved the gradual withdrawal of Israeli soldiers and the deployment of an international force to the Gaza Strip.
Israel unleashed its Gaza genocide on October 7, 2023, but it failed to achieve its declared objectives despite killing more than 72,027 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounding over 171,651 others.
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