Pause in hostilities a crucial relief for children in Gaza – now it must become a definitive and lasting ceasefire
GAZA, 9 October 2025 – Reports of an impending pause in hostilities in Gaza signals a hopeful reprieve on the horizon for families and children, but must be a turning point to secure a definitive ceasefire, said Save the Children.
Inger Ashing, CEO of Save the Children International, said:
“Today we watch with hope that a long overdue reprieve may be on the horizon for the children of Gaza. With bombs and bullets silenced, families will be able to think to the future, of rebuilding and recovering. People deprived of their liberty, including hostages and some of the many detained Palestinians, will be able to return to their families. We dare to hope that this step provides a collective chance to end the unconscionable suffering that has gone on for far too long.
“But safety for children requires more than words, it requires work, and while today’s announcements are a crucial first step for children’s survival – children who have been failed for too long as the world has watched - this survival will only be secured if it is followed by a definitive and lasting ceasefire.
“Gaza now needs a sustained surge of aid to stop more deaths from starvation, disease, and injuries. Humanitarian access is a legal obligation, not a point for political negotiation, and this obligation must now be upheld. Save the Children stands ready to scale-up our support and deliver life-saving supplies and treatment to children who desperately need it.
“This pause and any ceasefire that may follow must ensure accountability for the loss of tens of thousands of young lives and for the grave harm caused to surviving children for whom the indelible consequences of hunger, disease, and physical and mental injury will leave a lasting mark. The international community must come together to ensure that the atrocities that Palestinian children have endured over the past two years never happen again – to any child anywhere.
“This also means addressing the root causes of repeated bouts of violence and a decades-long child rights crisis by ending the occupation, lifting the blockade on Gaza, and creating the conditions for lasting and definitive peace. Anything less than a definitive ceasefire and comprehensive accountability will fall short of the safety, assistance and rights Palestinian children need, deserve and are entitled to.”
ENDS