UN News Today 19 June 2026 |

This is UN News Today with me, Conor Lennon. The headlines:

Despite the Gaza ceasefire, an average of one child a day is still being killed…

Meanwhile, the risk of a deadly species of Ebola spreading through East and Central Africa remains high…

AND

The head of UNHCR pledges to cut refugees numbers by half over the next 10 years.

A child a day is being killed every day in Gaza

The ceasefire in Gaza has become a “cruel and deadly illusion,” UNICEF spokesperson, James Elder, said on Friday.

Since the ceasefire was announced in October 2025, 265 Palestinian children have reportedly been killed across Gaza – an average of one child every day –while more than 400 others have been injured, many with severe and life-changing wounds. 

Mr. Elder said that children continue to be killed in places where they should be safe, including homes, schools and shelters, and stressed that the constant exposure to violence has left Gaza’s children with profound psychological trauma, affecting their ability to eat, sleep and develop normally. 

CUT

“These children were not killed in a warzone. They were killed in their homes. They were killed in their schools. They were killed playing football. They were killed fishing. They were shot, bombed and struck by quadcopters. While the world continues to speak the language of ceasefire, families in Gaza continue to bury their children. However, if a child is being killed every day, surely the debate is no longer about the quality of the ceasefire. It is about the credibility of calling it one.” 

Growing spread of deadly Ebola virus in East Africa causing deep concern

The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, says that it is deeply concerned by the accelerating spread of the rare and deadly Bundibugyo species of Ebola in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

According to UNHCR, 896 confirmed cases and 232 deaths had been reported across 31 health zones in the DRC as of 17 June, and Uganda has confirmed 19 cases and two deaths.

Although none of the cases involved refugees, the risk of the disease spreading among displaced people remains high: more than two million forcibly displaced people, including over 320,000 refugees, live in areas at risk in the DRC, where fighting continues alongside the spread of the Ebola virus. 

UN celebrates valuable refugee contributions to society 

And Saturday marks World Refugee Day, an opportunity to recognise the courage and determination of nearly 42 million people uprooted from their countries by war, violence and persecution.

In a statement to mark the Day, the head of UNHCR, Barham Salih, announced that he intends to cut by half the number of refugees living in protracted displacement and reliant on humanitarian assistance, over the next ten years.

He called for refugees to be given more opportunities to rebuild their lives with dignity and underlined that the status of refugee is meant to be a temporary condition, not a lifelong fate.

Conor Lennon, UN News.