US-backed Israeli attacks on Gaza killed at least 74 children in just the first week of 2025, according to the UN’s child relief agency, UNICEF.
“Children have reportedly been killed in several mass casualty events, including nighttime attacks in Gaza City, Khan Younis, and al-Mawasi, a unilaterally designated ‘safe zone’ in the south,” UNICEF said on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, an Israeli strike on al-Mawasi in south Gaza killed five displaced children who were sheltering in tents. The IDF has repeatedly bombed al-Mawasi despite designating it as a so-called “humanitarian safe zone.”
Palestinian children are also dying due to the conditions caused by the Israeli siege and relentless bombing campaign. UNICEF said that 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.”
Gaza health officials said in December 2023 that 17,000 children had been killed in the genocidal war, a number that does not include those missing and presumed dead under the rubble or indirect deaths caused by the siege.
Newborn babies are especially vulnerable since many have been born prematurely due to the health conditions of their mothers. Palestinian mothers in Gaza also struggle to make milk, and there have been shortages of formula and other baby products.
In October, The New York Times published accounts from American healthcare workers who volunteered in Gaza, including many who worked with babies. “I worked in a neonatal ICU. Several infants died every day due to lack of medical supplies and appropriate nutrition,” said Dr. Amen Odeh, a pediatrician from Texas.
“We had to make tough decisions about which very sick baby would be on the ventilator due to lack of equipment. I saw a family bringing in their dead 3-day-old infant who had been living in a tent,” Odeh added.
Despite the slaughter of children and death of so many newborns under the siege, the Biden administration has continued to provide military aid and political support to Israel. President Biden is reportedly planning to approve one more major arms deal worth $8 billion before he leaves office.
