The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Gaza: A ceasefire that ‘still buries children’ is not enough, says UNICEF
Airstrikes, drone strikes and hypothermia are among the lethal conditions prevailing in Gaza despite the ceasefire, with more than 100 children killed since early October, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday.
“That's roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a ceasefire,” UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva.
“These children are killed from airstrikes, drone strikes, including suicide drones,” he said, speaking from Gaza City. “They’re killed from tank shelling. They’re killed from live ammunition. They’re killed from [remote-controlled] quadcopters.”
Mr. Elder pointed out that more children have died of hypothermia in the last few days. “We’ve now gone to six children who died of hypothermia just this winter,” he said. “I wish I could take a camera and show you 30, 40-kilometre [per hour] winds ripping through tents on the beach. It's bitterly cold. It's bitterly wet.”
The UNICEF spokesperson stressed that the ceasefire has allowed “genuine progress” in primary healthcare, with UNICEF and partners setting up the first health clinics in the north of the Strip and expanding immunization services. But desperately needed medical evacuations of children remain at a standstill.
Mr. Elder noted “no noticeable improvement” both on approvals to get children with life-threatening injuries out of Gaza and to have host countries take in those children.
He said that in his latest mission to the enclave, he spoke to many children and families denied evacuation despite completing an arduous, formal process, including a nine-year-old with shrapnel lodged in his eye who “will lose sight in an eye, maybe both”, and a girl in Al Shifa hospital in Gaza City who “may well die”.
The UNICEF spokesperson also highlighted the dangers of a recent Israeli ban on international NGOs, which will come into effect in the coming month and mean “blocking life-saving assistance”, he alleged. Mr. Elder also stressed the importance of allowing international media into the enclave, which has not been granted despite the ceasefire.
“There needs to be a lot more pressure on allowing international journalists to come in,” he said. “This is my seventh mission [to Gaza] and every time I see the 360-degree devastation, flattening of homes, my jaw drops.”
“It is absolutely as staggering yesterday as it was the first time I saw it more than two years ago,” he insisted.
Mr. Elder warned that two years of war have “left life for Gaza's children unimaginably hard,” explaining that “the psychological damage remains untreated, and it's becoming deeper and harder to heal, the longer this goes on”.
“A ceasefire that slows the bombs is progress, but one that still buries children is not enough,” he concluded.
-ENDS-
STORY Gaza ceasefire deaths – UNICEF
TRT: 2:59”
SOURCE: UNTV CH AND UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 13 JANUARY 2026 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND; 10 JANUARY 2026 KHAN YOUNIS, GAZA – credit UNICEF
1. Exterior wide shot: Palais des Nations, Flag Alley.
2. Wide shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference, speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): More than 100 children have been killed in Gaza since the cease-fire of early October. That's roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a cease-fire.”
4. Wide shot: Speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “These children are killed from airstrikes, drone strikes, including suicide drones. They're killed from tank shelling. They're killed from live ammunition. They're killed from quadcopters.”
6. Medium shot: Journalists in the Press room.
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “We've had children die of hypothermia again in the last few days, so we've now gone to six children who died of hypothermia just in this winter. I mean, it's bleak outside now. I wish I could take a camera and show you 30, 40-kilometre winds ripping through tents on the beach, it's bitterly cold. It's bitterly wet.”
8. Medium shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference, speaker on screens; journalists in the Press room.
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “I have spoken even in this last trip to many, many children and families, who either, if I think of yesterday, the child will have his leg amputated. The boy we mentioned today, Abid Al Rahman, he will lose sight in an eye, maybe both. The girl in Shifa hospital may well die. All three of those are absolute candidates for medical evacuation. All three of those have so far been denied.”
10. Medium shot: Speakers at the podium of the press conference; speaker on screens.
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “There needs to be a lot more pressure on allowing international journalists to come in. And I say that because this is my seventh mission and every time I see the 360-degree devastation, flattening, flattening of homes, of homes, my jaw drops. It is absolutely as staggering yesterday as it was the first time I saw it more than two years ago.”
12. Medium-wide shot: Journalists in the Press room.
13. SOUNDBITE (English) – James Elder, spokesperson, UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF): “Two years of war has left life for Gaza's children unimaginably hard. They still live in fear. The psychological damage remains untreated, and it's becoming deeper and harder to heal the longer this goes on. A cease-fire that slows the bombs is progress, but one that still buries children is not enough.”
14. Various shots of journalists in the Press room.
15. UNICEF B-Roll: 10 January 2026, Medium shots: Nasser Hospital, Khan Younis: Abid Al Rahman, nine years old, with a shrapnel injury in his eye – credit UNICEF.
Similar Stories
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC
The UN’s top human rights forum gathered in Geneva on Monday, where Member States highlighted the growing civilian toll of war in the Middle East, sparked by Israeli and U.S. bombing of Iran, counter-strikes by Tehran against Gulf states and Israeli shelling of Hezbollah targets in Lebanon in response to attacks by the armed group.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL , UNFPA , IOM , UNHCR
As the UN Secretary-General touched down in Beirut on Friday in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, UN agencies highlighted the dangers for civilians and particularly pregnant women and migrant workers, amid ongoing airstrikes and rocket fire between Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity: independent UN rights probe
Scores of Ukrainian children are still missing after being deported far and wide across Russia and occupied territories while their families continue to search for them, human rights investigators said on Thursday.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
The UN’s emergency relief chief on Wednesday condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war roiling the Middle East, at a time of severe cuts to the global body’s humanitarian work in emergencies and “soaring” needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO , UNHCR , UNICEF , WFP
Middle East war: UN warns of ‘toxic rain’ danger from oil depot strikes as mass displacement, aid supply shocks spread
Toxic “black rain” linked to strikes on oil depots, mass displacement and continuing disruption to humanitarian supply chains are upending lives across the Middle East and beyond after 10 days of war in the region, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Friday made the following remarks on Israel’s military ground incursions and displacement orders in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , IOM , WHO
The escalating war in the Middle East has heightened growing concerns about further civilian suffering and displacement in the region and far beyond, UN agencies said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk made the following remarks at a press stake out on the current situation in the Middle East.
“The crisis sparked in the Middle East one week ago following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, has been spreading like wildfire. It is causing significant damage in Iran, Israel and at least a dozen other countries, mostly in the Gulf, with risks of major economic and environmental ramifications across the world,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.