The ceasefire in the Gaza Strip announced in October is “a deadly illusion” for children and young people, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.
UNICEF spokesman James Elder reported that 265 minors have been killed since then, more than 90% of them as a result of Israeli attacks.
Some children have also been killed by unexploded ordnance lying among the rubble in Gaza.
"These children were not killed in a war zone," said Elder. "They were killed in their homes. In their schools. Playing football. Fishing. They were shot, bombed, struck by quadcopters."
Among them was a 2-year-old who was shot dead this week, as well as a 13-year-old who was struck by an Israeli bullet in his tent.
A 12-year-old girl was shot in the chest by a weapon mounted on a crane whilst in her family’s tent, and a 3-year-old was struck in the face by a bullet fired from a drone. Doctors were doing everything in their power to treat the devastating wounds, which would have lifelong consequences, Elder said.
"We must stop normalizing the abnormal. The fact that children can continue to be killed at this scale during a ceasefire should alarm every government and every institution which claims to defend international law," said Elder.
There is a lack of political will to put an end to the killing of children, he said.
