• World promised children of Gaza it would stop violations, protect them with ceasefire, Pires says, urging: 'Now we must act like it'

GENEVA

An average of almost two children have been killed every day in conflict-related incidents in Gaza since the ceasefire began, UNICEF warned on Friday, saying the violence has not stopped despite an agreement intended to halt the killing.

Speaking to journalists in Geneva, spokesperson Ricardo Pires said: "Since 11th of October, while the ceasefire has been in effect, at least 67 children have been killed in conflict-related incidents in the Gaza Strip, dozens more have been injured."

He said this represented "an average of almost two children killed every day since the ceasefire took effect and the agreement that the killing would stop was finally achieved."

Pires stressed that behind every number is a child whose life was violently cut short, reiterating that these are not mere statistics.

He recounted what UNICEF teams are witnessing on the ground -- children sleeping outdoors with amputations, and others left orphaned and shaking with fear as they survive in flooded, makeshift shelters stripped of dignity.

"I saw this myself when I was last there in August. The reality imposed on Gaza remains brutally simple. There is no safe place for them, and the world cannot continue to normalize their suffering," he stressed.

Despite expanding its operations, UNICEF says its efforts remain insufficient. He said the UN agency "could do a lot more if the aid that is really needed was entering faster."

Warning of winter conditions and compounding risks for hundreds of thousands of displaced children living in shelters, Pires warned that "the stakes are incredibly high" as "the new season is a threat multiplier."

Children have "no heating, no insulation, and too few blankets," he said. "Respiratory infections are on the rise, while contaminated water fuels the spread of diarrhea."

He added that “children continue to clamber over broken rubble barefoot.”

"Too many children have already paid the highest price, too many are still paying it, even under a ceasefire. The world promised them it (war) would stop and we would protect them," he said and urged: "Now we must act like it."