Two Palestinian children killed every day by Israel in Gaza: UNICEF
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires urged action to alleviate the suffering of Gaza's children, who have continued to be killed by Israel since the October truce.
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Gaza's children continue to be targeted by Israeli forces weeks into the ceasefire [Getty]
An average of two children have been killed every day in Gaza by Israeli forces since a ceasefire agreement came into force on 11 October, UNICEF has said.
Speaking on Friday at his weekly press conference at the United Nations in Geneva, UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires highlighted that an Israeli strike had killed a young girl in Khan Younis on Thursday, while seven children were killed on Wednesday in Gaza City.
Pires said that at least 67 Palestinian children have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire came into force, making an average of two children killed per day.
The UNICEF spokesperson recounted his own experiences in Gaza, where he saw wounded and orphaned children staying in temporary shelters.
"I saw this myself when I was last there in August. The reality imposed on Gaza remains brutally simple. There is no safe place for them, and the world cannot continue to normalise their suffering," he said.
Pires added that despite UNICEF's operations to alleviate the suffering of children in Gaza, the levels of aid entering the enclave are insufficient.
“If the required aid and support had reached more quickly, we would have been able to do more,” he said.
With the extreme conditions of winter now setting in, Pires warned that the new season is a "threat multiplier".
"Respiratory infections are on the rise, while contaminated water fuels the spread of diarrhea," he said, adding that “children continue to clamber over broken rubble barefoot".
"Too many children have already paid the highest price, too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it (war) would stop and we would protect them, " Pires said. "Now we must act like it."
Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 69,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza's health ministry. Of those killed, around 20,000 are children.
Israel's war on Gaza has been described as a genocide by UN experts and leading human rights groups, including Amnesty International.
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