Tragic Start to 2025 for Children in Gaza, with 74 Reported Killed in First Week Amid Escalating Violence and Humanitarian Crisis.
Gaza:
The new year has brought little hope for children in Gaza, with at least 74 children reported killed within the first week of 2025 due to ongoing violence in the region. According to reports, several mass casualty incidents, including nighttime attacks in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and the Al Mawasi area — a location previously designated as a “safe zone” — have contributed to the tragic loss of young lives. The most recent attack, which took place on January 7, claimed the lives of five children in Al Mawasi.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell expressed deep concern over the devastating impact on children. “For the children of Gaza, the new year has brought more death and suffering from attacks, deprivation, and increasing exposure to the cold,” she said. “A ceasefire is long overdue. Too many children have been killed or lost loved ones in a tragic start to the new year.”
The worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza presents severe risks to children, particularly due to a lack of shelter and the harsh winter conditions. Over a million children remain in makeshift tents, with many families displaced for more than 15 months. In addition to the ongoing violence, the cold temperatures have caused a significant threat to vulnerable children, particularly infants and newborns. Since December 26, at least eight infants have died from hypothermia.
Gaza’s humanitarian crisis is spiraling out of control, with a severely inadequate flow of aid into the region. Basic necessities such as food, water, sanitation, and healthcare remain out of reach for many families. The destruction of key infrastructure and the collapse of civil order, including widespread looting of humanitarian supplies, have further worsened the conditions. Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last functioning medical facility in northern Gaza with a pediatric unit, was recently disabled by a raid, leaving families in desperate need of medical care with nowhere to turn.
“UNICEF has long warned that inadequate shelter, lack of access to nutrition and healthcare, the dire sanitary situation, and now the winter weather put the lives of all children in Gaza at risk,” Russell said. “Newborns and children with medical conditions are especially vulnerable.”
UNICEF is calling on all parties involved in the conflict, as well as the international community, to take urgent action to end the violence, address the humanitarian crisis, and ensure the safe release of all hostages, particularly the two remaining children. The organization also urged compliance with international humanitarian law, emphasizing the importance of halting attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, facilitating aid delivery, and ensuring the safety of humanitarian workers.
The dire conditions in Gaza highlight the immediate need for an improvement in security, both for civilians and for aid workers, to allow for the delivery of life-saving aid to children and families in urgent need. Without increased international intervention and commitment to ceasefire, the lives of Gaza’s children remain at grave risk.
