UNICEF reports 'mass casualty' for children in Gaza during first week of 2025

At least 74 children were killed by Israel in the Gaza Strip during the first week of 2025, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Wednesday.

Israel's "nighttime attacks" in areas like Gaza City, Khan Younis and Al Mawasi -- a supposed "safe zone" -- have claimed young lives, as UNICEF stated that "the most recent attack, yesterday, saw five children reportedly killed in Al Mawasi."

"For the children of Gaza, the new year has brought more death and suffering from attacks, deprivation, and increasing exposure to the cold," Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement, adding, "A cease-fire is long overdue."

Highlighting the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the agency noted that more than 1 million children are living in makeshift tents, with many families displaced for months.

"Since December 26, eight infants and newborns have reportedly died from hypothermia-a major threat to young children who are unable to regulate their body temperature," it said.

Noting that the destruction of civilian infrastructure and overwhelmed hospitals add to the crisis, UNICEF noted the shutting down of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the only pediatric hospital in northern Gaza, after an Israeli raid last month.

"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," said Russell.

UNICEF urged an end to attacks on civilians and allowing life-saving aid to reach those in need. It further emphasized the importance of the delivery of aid and supplies for the survival of children in Gaza.

Calling for immediate action to improve security so aid workers can safely deliver supplies to families, Russell said: "Families need an end to this unimaginable suffering and heartbreak."