With 35 children killed daily in Gaza, UNICEF says deal 'so overdue'
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UNICEF spokesperson James Elder describes the ceasefire as "critical and long overdue," shedding light on the alarming statistic that an estimated 35 children have been killed daily in Gaza over the past 14 months.
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A Palestinian father mourning his child killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on Tuesday, December 12, 2023. (AP)
A UNICEF spokesperson underscored the pressing need for a Gaza ceasefire, calling it "critical and long overdue," Anadolu Agency reported. James Elder revealed that an estimated 35 children have been killed daily in Gaza over the past 14 months, highlighting the devastating toll on the region's youngest and most vulnerable population.
Elder cited a peer-reviewed study in The Lancet, which reported higher casualty figures than those from the Palestinian Health Ministry, due to several obstacles, which had already estimated over 15,000 child fatalities.
"That's around 35 children killed reportedly every single day for 14 months," Elder stated during a UN briefing in Geneva.
In 2025 alone, he noted, an average of 10 children have died daily in Gaza.
"This moment (ceasefire deal) is so absolutely critical and so overdue," Elder said, adding, "This deal should have happened much earlier."
He also stressed the importance of implementing all phases of the ceasefire simultaneously to ensure its effectiveness.
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Gaza death toll likely 40% higher than reported: Lancet
Earlier this month, a study suggested that the official Palestinian count of deaths in the Israeli war on Gaza may have missed as many as 41% of casualties through mid-2024 due to the collapse of Gaza's healthcare system.
Academics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Yale University, and other institutions conducted the peer-reviewed statistical analysis published in The Lancet journal.
The researchers employed a statistical technique known as capture-recapture analysis to estimate the death toll from the Israeli air and ground assault against Gaza during the first nine months of the war, spanning from October 2023 to the end of June 2024.
The researchers estimated that 64,260 people died from traumatic injuries during this period, which is approximately 41% higher than the official count from the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza.
The study indicated that 59.1% of the victims were women, children, and individuals over 65, but it did not offer an estimate of the number of Palestinian combatants among the deceased.
More than 46,000 people have been killed in the Israeli war on Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials.
The Lancet study noted that the Gaza Health Ministry's ability to maintain accurate electronic death records had previously been reliable but declined during the Israeli war. This decline was attributed to strikes on hospitals and other healthcare facilities, as well as disruptions to digital communication systems.
Reports also indicated that many bodies were buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings, leading to their exclusion from certain casualty counts. To address these gaps, the Lancet study used a method commonly employed to assess deaths in other war zones, such as Kosovo and Sudan.
According to the study, by analyzing data from at least two independent sources, researchers were able to identify individuals who appeared on multiple casualty lists. Greater overlap between the lists indicates more accurate records, while less overlap suggests that many deaths have gone unreported.
According to the study, this information helps estimate the total number of fatalities.
For the Gaza study, researchers compared the official death toll from the Health Ministry, which initially relied solely on bodies brought to hospitals in the early months of the war. Over time, the count expanded to include data from an online survey distributed by the ministry to Palestinians both inside and outside Gaza.
The survey asked for information such as Palestinian ID numbers, names, age at death, gender, death location, and reporting source. Additionally, obituaries shared on social media were used as a data source.
"Our research reveals a stark reality: the true scale of traumatic injury deaths in Gaza is higher than reported," lead author Zeina Jamaluddine told Reuters.
