UN report: 265 children killed in Gaza each day since 2025 cease‑fire

The United Nations’ 2025 annual report on children in armed conflict recorded a historic 38,558 grave violations affecting 24,174 children, including 6,266 killings – a 34 % rise from the previous year. For the first time, government forces were identified as the main perpetrators, with Israel’s military and security forces topping the list with 12,445 violations, followed by forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Myanmar, Somalia and Nigeria.

UNICEF’s spokesperson James Elder warned that, despite a cease‑fire declared in October 2025, an average of one Palestinian child has been killed every day in Gaza, totaling 265 deaths and more than 400 injuries. He described the truce as “a cruel and deadly illusion,” noting that children are being killed in homes, schools, while playing football or fishing, often by drone‑mounted weapons. Elder said, “During a period supposedly defined by restraint and protection, a child has been killed, on average, every single day for more than eight months.”

UN special representative for children in armed conflict Vanessa Frazier called the 2025 figures “the darkest chapter for child protection since monitoring began,” urging governments to act, noting that many violations are “avoidable” and result from deliberate decisions by state actors.