Children in the Gaza Strip continue to face life-threatening conditions despite a ceasefire announced last October, with deaths, deprivation, and severe restrictions shaping their daily reality, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder said in remarks delivered via video link from Gaza.

Elder revealed that hypothermia has claimed the lives of more children in recent days, bringing the total number of child deaths from cold exposure this winter to six.

He described the situation as a grim reflection of the broader humanitarian collapse, where displaced families remain trapped in inadequate shelters amid harsh winter weather.

Beyond deaths caused by cold, Elder stressed that violence has continued to claim young lives even during the ceasefire. More than 100 children have been killed since the truce came into effect, he said, noting that this amounts to “roughly a girl or a boy killed here every day during a ceasefire.”

While the pause in fighting has reduced the intensity of bombardment, he said, “life in Gaza remains suffocating,” and children’s survival is still far from guaranteed.

UNICEF data confirms that at least 60 boys and 40 girls have been killed in Gaza since October, but Elder cautioned that the true toll is likely much higher. The figures, he explained, only include cases where sufficient information was available, leaving many child deaths unrecorded.

According to Elder, the majority of these fatalities were the result of continued military action. Children have been killed by airstrikes, drone attacks—including so-called suicide drones—tank shelling, and live ammunition. These realities, he said, underscore the fragility and incompleteness of the ceasefire.

Elder called for the full enforcement of the ceasefire, unrestricted humanitarian access, and accountability for violations, urging the international community to ensure “real safety” for Gaza’s children.

The crisis extends beyond physical survival to education and mental health. As some children cautiously return to makeshift tent schools, Elder said that even the most basic learning and recreational supplies remain blocked. Items as simple as pencils, pens, notebooks, and materials for play are still restricted, despite their importance for education and psychological recovery.

“These are the most essential, critical materials for children to start to recover from trauma,” he said. Trauma counselors working with children, he added, are forced to rely on basic breathing exercises and drawing to help them cope—yet even paper, crayons, and coloring tools are largely unavailable.

Elder described witnessing children repeatedly reusing the same sheet of paper because they lack access to basic supplies. Requests to allow in educational and recreational kits, he said, have been consistently denied. “We keep pushing,” he said, “the denials keep coming.”

As winter deepens and restrictions persist, UNICEF warned that Gaza’s children remain exposed not only to violence, but to a slow erosion of their right to safety, education, and recovery.