Statement by UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Edouard Beigbeder, on the killing of at least 45 children in the Gaza Strip

UNICEF

16 May 2025

AMMAN, 16 May 2025 – “The reported killing of at least 45 children in the Gaza Strip in the last two days is yet another devastating reminder that children in Gaza are suffering first and foremost, having to starve day after day only to be victims of indiscriminate attacks.

“These past 19 months, Gaza has been deadly for children and there are no safe spaces. From North to South, children are being killed and maimed in hospitals, in schools-turned-shelters, in makeshift tents, or in their parents’ arms.

“Only in the past two months, more than 950 children have reportedly been killed in strikes across the Gaza Strip.

“Children in the Gaza Strip are facing relentless bombardments while being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care since the beginning of the conflict. For the past two months, the situation has further deteriorated, due to the imposed blockade of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The threats to children’s lives go beyond bombs and bullets. The living conditions too, threaten their survival. With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of famine, illness, and death.

“Children’s rights in Gaza are being gravely violated every day and urgent action is needed to protect children from widespread grave violations of their rights and threats to their survival. Nineteen months into this conflict, children have suffered violence without relent, including indiscriminate attacks. They have suffered multiple months-long blockades, denying them of essential food, water, and health supplies. They have suffered repeated displacements – being forced to relocate again and again, in search of safety and shelter. They have suffered in ways unimaginable. Their scars will endure a lifetime.

“UNICEF is once again urging parties to the conflict to end the violence, and states with influence over parties to the conflict to use their leverage and influence to end the conflict. International humanitarian law must be respected by all parties, allowing the immediate provision of humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages, and the protection of civilians from attacks. The daily suffering and killing of children must end immediately.”