News Center — UNICEF’s annual report for 2025 warned that children in conflict hotspots such as Ukraine, Sudan, and the Gaza Strip face daily life-threatening risks. The report also recorded cases of famine in Darfur and parts of Gaza during the summer of this year.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stated on Tuesday, December 30, that hunger, war, and disease have reshaped the lives of millions of children around the world throughout 2025, pointing to the deterioration of humanitarian conditions in conflict zones.

In its annual report, UNICEF announced that approximately 100,000 children in Gaza are suffering from severe food insecurity. It also noted that the number of children living in crisis and conflict areas has reached record levels. Never before has the number of children in such conditions been so high, with nearly one in every five children worldwide now living in areas affected by crises or conflict—almost double the number recorded in the mid-1990s.

The report further stated that the United Nations documented the highest level of grave violations against children’s rights and attacks on humanitarian workers, with 41,370 serious violations recorded in 2024—an increase of 25% compared to the previous year.

UNICEF stressed that effective humanitarian assistance programs have proven capable of saving lives and providing a better future even under the most difficult circumstances. It emphasized that 2026 will also be filled with challenges, and that the organization will continue to make every possible effort to protect children.

The organization expressed deep sorrow over the tragic and preventable death of seven-year-old Ata May, who drowned on December 27 due to severe flooding in an informal displacement camp in the Al-Sudaniyah area, northwest of Gaza City.

At least five other children lost their lives during December after being exposed to these harsh conditions, according to a statement issued by UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. The statement highlighted the extreme vulnerability faced by children in the most affected areas of Gaza, where the near-total destruction of homes and water and sanitation infrastructure has left families exposed to harsh weather conditions