UN News Today 21 November 2025 |

Gaza: Two children killed every day during latest ceasefire, says UNICEF

Attacks and airstrikes attributed to Israeli forces in Gaza are still killing and maiming people of all ages in the shattered enclave – although the ceasefire limps on, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF said on Friday.

The development comes after a baby girl was reportedly killed in Khan Younis by an airstrike, while in a separate incident earlier this week, seven children were killed in Gaza City and the south, according to the agency.

It says that since 11 October – which was the first full day of the pause in hostilities between the Israeli military and Hamas fighters – at least 67 children have been killed in “conflict-related incidents”.

UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told journalists in Geneva that “there’s only one party to the conflict in Gaza with the firepower to do airstrikes”:

“Gaza’s doctors tell us of children they know how to save but cannot. Children with severe burns, shrapnel wounds, spinal injuries, traumatic brain injuries, children with cancer who have lost months of treatment. Premature babies who need intensive care. Children who need surgeries that simply cannot be done inside Gaza today.”

Big business must retain alignment with human rights standards: Türk

In other news, UN human rights chief Volker Türk has urged the European Union to protect the integrity of its rules on corporate responsibility, as lawmakers negotiate final changes.

The EU’s due diligence directive for big business which was introduced last year requires large corporations to identify and address serious human rights and environmental risks across their supply chains.

But Mr. Türk said on Friday that some of the amendments under discussion could weaken their effectiveness.

Any changes could also undermine alignment with international standards, including the UN’s own Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Specifically, the UN High Commissioner warned against proposals that would limit what information companies can ask for from their suppliers, as this could reduce their ability to spot human rights risks early.

Mr. Türk emphasised that many companies have already invested heavily in systems that follow globally recognised due diligence practices.

And he warned that moving away from these standards could create a two-tier system which would involve unnecessary cost and complexity “while doing little to prevent harm”.

In Ukraine, not a day goes by without civilians coming under attack: OCHA

To Ukraine, where not a day goes by without civilians coming under attack, UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said on Friday.

It comes as Russia’s escalating campaign of attacks across Ukraine continues to target residential areas and key power infrastructure.

Frontline communities continue to face the hardest conditions, including in the small town of Lyman, near Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia.

It’s there that OCHA says 3,000 people are beyond the reach of humanitarian assistance altogether, because of the ongoing attacks by Russian armed forces.

Earlier this week, airstrikes claimed more than 20 civilian lives and injured more than 100, the UN agency said.

Today, 3.5 million people are displaced inside Ukraine and more than six million are sheltering abroad.

The UN has helped more than 4.2 million of them, but OCHA says this work is being hampered by increasing attacks on humanitarian convoys and warehouses.

Daniel Johnson, UN News