By 3 September 2025, at least 19,424 children in Gaza had been killed or injured in the war. Children make up about 40% of the Gaza Strip’s population, so the toll falls on a young society.
The count had been climbing for a long time. In November 2023, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that “Gaza is becoming a graveyard for children. Hundreds of girls and boys are reportedly being killed or injured every day.” The war continued, and the tally rose steadily to the figure above.
A ceasefire that did not stop the killing
A truce took hold in early October. It slowed the fighting without ending the deaths. UNICEF said that more than 100 children were killed in Gaza in the period after it began, roughly one a day.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder gave the breakdown: at least 60 boys and 40 girls. That count covers only incidents with enough detail to record, so he expects the real number to be higher. Hundreds more children were wounded.
“Whilst the bombings and shooting have slowed during the ceasefire, they have not stopped,” Elder said. “Life in Gaza remains suffocating, and survival is still conditional.”
He described a daily life still marked by shortages. Severe limits on medical supplies, fuel, cooking gas and parts for water and sanitation systems continue to threaten children’s health. After two years of war, he said, the psychological damage is largely untreated and gets harder to heal the longer it goes on.
“A ceasefire that slows the bombs is progress, but one that still buries children is not enough,” Elder said. “This is the time to turn reduced violence into real safety: open access for aid, massively increase medical evacuation, and make this the moment when the killing of children in Gaza truly ends.”
What UNICEF has been able to do
The agency has widened primary healthcare, including immunisation, into areas that previously had little coverage. Crews remove thousands of tonnes of solid waste every month. UNICEF has handed out nearly one million thermal blankets and hundreds of thousands of winter clothing kits, and has repaired water pipelines, pumping stations and sewerage networks. More than 70 nutrition facilities have been added across Gaza, which Elder said helps hold famine at bay.
Sources
- Gaza ceasefire fails to protect children as UNICEF reports hundreds killed or wounded | The Eastleigh Voice
- Children in the Gaza war
