AMMAN — At least 351 children have been reported killed in the Gaza Strip since a ceasefire was announced in October 2025, UNICEF, the United Nations children's agency, has said in a statement by its Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder.
Source: UNICEF
Eight children were reported killed and 20 others injured in just six days across the Gaza Strip, Beigbeder said, according to the UNICEF statement, which was reported on October 22-23 by The Business Standard via the Palestinian news agency WAFA and by other regional outlets. "This level of violence against children is unacceptable," he said.
Source: The Business Standard via WAFA
UNICEF called on the Israeli authorities to take immediate and decisive action to protect children, including respecting the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions in all attacks, and to ensure transparent and rigorous accountability in cases in which children are killed or sustain injuries resulting in permanent disabilities, the statement said.
For children who survive, physical and mental recovery is further hindered by Gaza's decimated health system, Beigbeder added. Around 800,000 children in Gaza remain displaced, while an estimated 60,000 have lost one or both parents during the war or since the ceasefire, UNICEF reported last week, according to The Business Standard. The agency stressed that nearly every child in Gaza requires mental health support as displacement continues and access to essential services deteriorates.
The 351 total and the six-day figures are UNICEF's reported figures, attributed here to UNICEF throughout. Awaaz Punjab is not naming or identifying any individual child victim, in line with its minor-safety rule. No Israeli response to this UNICEF statement was reported in the UNICEF statement or in The Business Standard's report.
The statement is the agency's latest warning that the October 2025 ceasefire has not ended lethal violence against children in Gaza. What happens next depends on whether the accountability and protection steps UNICEF has demanded are taken, and whether further reported killings are independently documented.
What is solid
- UNICEF said 351 children have been reported killed in Gaza since the October 2025 ceasefire announcement — UNICEF statement by Edouard Beigbeder
- Eight children were reported killed and 20 injured in six days — UNICEF, via The Business Standard/WAFA
- Around 800,000 children in Gaza remain displaced — UNICEF reported last week, via The Business Standard
What is only claimed
- The circumstances of individual reported killings — UNICEF presents them as reported cases; no Israeli response to this statement was reported in the sources used here