James Elder told a UN briefing in Geneva that a peer-reviewed report in The Lancet had reported numbers of casualties exceeding those reported by the Palestinian Health Ministry, which had reported upwards of 15,000 children having been killed.
“That’s around 35 children killed reportedly every single day for 14 months,” Elder said.
In 2025 alone, he added, an average of 10 children have lost their lives daily in Gaza.
“This moment (ceasefire deal) is so absolutely critical and so overdue,” he said. “This deal should have happened much earlier.”
He noted that what is needed now is phase one, phase two, and phase three of the ceasefire to take place simultaneously.
Qatar announced on Wednesday a cease-fire agreement to end over 15 months of deadly Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip.
Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stated the 3-phase deal will be effective on Sunday.
The deal includes a prisoner exchange and sustained calm, aiming for a permanent truce and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
More than 46,700 Palestinians, mostly women and children were killed and over 110,000 others injured in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza since the October 2023, according to local health authorities.
The war has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
