Gaza Crisis: UNICEF Reports 28 Children Killed Daily Amid Israeli Bombardment and Aid Blockade

Gaza Crisis: UNICEF Reports 28 Children Killed Daily Amid Israeli Bombardment and Aid Blockade

  • An average of 28 children are being killed daily in Gaza amid Israeli bombardment and a deepening humanitarian blockade, according to the United Nations
  • UNICEF warns that Gaza’s children are dying from airstrikes, starvation, and lack of vital aid, calling urgently for a ceasefire
  • With over 18,000 children killed and hundreds more starving, aid groups say Gaza has become a graveyard for childhood and a lost generation

The United Nations has reported that approximately 28 children are being killed every day in Gaza due to relentless Israeli bombardment and severe restrictions on humanitarian aid.

The figure, equivalent to the size of a classroom, was shared by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in a post on X on Tuesday.

A heartbreaking reality: 28 children are killed daily in Gaza due to Israeli bombardment and an aid blockade, according to a new UNICEF report.
The Gaza crisis deepens as UNICEF reports a devastating toll: 28 children killed daily amid relentless Israeli bombardment and an aid blockade. Photo credit: HalimFaiz/GettyImages
Source: AFP
“Death by bombardments. Death by malnutrition and starvation. Death by lack of aid and vital services,” UNICEF stated, underscoring the dire conditions facing children in the besieged enclave. The agency stressed that children urgently require food, clean water, medicine and protection. “More than anything, they need a ceasefire, NOW,” it added.

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Gaza death toll surges as aid blockade deepens

Since the start of Israel’s military campaign on Gaza following Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, more than 18,000 children have reportedly been killed—averaging one child every hour. The overall Palestinian death toll has reached at least 60,933, with 150,027 others wounded.

In the past 24 hours alone, eight Palestinians, including one child, have died from starvation. The total number of starvation-related deaths has climbed to 188, including 94 children, as Israel continues to block aid and target those seeking assistance.

“For those who survive, childhood has been replaced by a daily struggle for the basics of life,” said Al Jazeera’s Aksel Zaimovic.

Displaced children in Gaza forced into adult roles

Kadim Khufu Basim, a displaced Palestinian child, told Al Jazeera that he now supports his family of six after his father was injured and evacuated to Egypt for treatment.

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“I love playing football. But now I sell cookies. My childhood is gone. Since the war began, we have no childhood left,” Basim said.

Under international law, children are supposed to be shielded from the effects of war. However, Zaimovic reported that in Gaza, children have borne the brunt of Israel’s military campaign.

“Schools deliberately targeted, water facilities destroyed, food supplies systematically blocked. And the fundamental rights of childhood … education, play, proper nutrition … have been weaponised against an entire generation,” he said.

Psychological trauma and loss of innocence

The psychological toll of the war has also been devastating. Lana, a 10-year-old displaced child, experienced trauma-induced depigmentation after a bombing near her shelter. Her hair and skin turned white almost overnight, and she has since become withdrawn.

“She talks to her doll and says, ‘Do you want to play with me, or will you be like the other kids?’ Her mental health is severely damaged,” said her mother, Mai Jalal al-Sharif.

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Ahmad Alhendawi, regional director of Save the Children, described Gaza as “a graveyard for children today and for their dreams.” He added, “This is an inescapable living nightmare for every child in Gaza … This is a generation that is growing up thinking that the world has abandoned them, that the world has turned its back on them.”

Aid restrictions fuel famine

Israel has kept Gaza’s crossings closed since 2 March, permitting only 86 trucks of aid per day—just 14 percent of the minimum 600 trucks required to meet basic needs, according to Gaza’s Government Media Office. The blockade has triggered an unprecedented famine.

UN experts and over 150 humanitarian organisations have called for a permanent ceasefire to facilitate aid delivery and support the psychological recovery of what they have termed a “lost generation.”

UNICEF highlights the grim cost of the Gaza crisis, revealing that 28 children are killed daily, a direct result of ongoing bombardment and aid blockade.
UNICEF highlights the grim cost of the Gaza crisis, revealing that 28 children are killed daily, a direct result of ongoing bombardment and aid blockade. Photo credit: GhansiJand/GettyImages
Source: Twitter

Gaza faces 'critical risk of famine': UN report

Legit.ng earlier reported that Gaza is at "critical risk of famine", with 22 percent of the population facing an imminent humanitarian "catastrophe" after more than two months of an aid blockade by Israel, a food security monitor warned Monday.

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Gaza's entire population of around 2.4 million people is at risk of a food crisis "or worse" by September, the UN- and NGO-backed Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) said in a report. "Nineteen months into the conflict, the Gaza Strip is still confronted with a critical risk of famine," the IPC said.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Basit Jamiu avatar

Basit Jamiu (Current Affairs and Politics Editor) Basit Jamiu is a journalist with more than five years of experience. He is a current affairs and politics editor at Legit.ng. He holds a bachelor's degree from Ekiti State University (2018). Basit previously worked as a staff writer at Ikeja Bird (2022), Associate Editor at Prime Progress (2022), and Staff Writer at The Movee (2018). He is a 2024 Open Climate Fellow (West Africa), 2023 MTN Media Fellow, OCRP Fellow at ICIR, and Accountability Fellow at CJID. Email: basit.jamiu@corp.legit.ng.

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