A UN investigation has said that Israel's deliberate attacks on children are part of a genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Geneva – A United Nations investigation panel says Israel continues to deliberately target and kill Palestinian children, amounting to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, as well as war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
In its report published on Tuesday, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel examined violations committed by Israel against Palestinian children since the start of the genocidal war in Gaza in October 2023.
The report found that about 30 percent of people killed in Gaza since the war began were children.
The document pointed out that Israel attacked neonatal and maternity care centers during the Gaza war, which directly threatened the reproductive future of Palestinians and the survival of newborns – thereby increasing the number of miscarriages, birth defects and permanent health impairments.
The study found that Israel's aid blockade of Gaza last year also took a heavy toll on Palestinian children, leading to deaths from starvation and the spread of disease, while vaccination rates declined.
„Evidence shows that Israeli security forces are deliberately targeting and killing Palestinian children,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chairman of the committee.
„Even after the ceasefire in October 2025, children continue to be killed and injured, while Israel continues to ignore the ceasefire and the protections afforded to Palestinian children under international law.”
The commission was established on May 27, 2021, at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council. The body is tasked with investigating alleged violations of international law and human rights abuses, and exploring the „root causes” of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
In a September 2025 report, the committee concluded that there was a reasonable basis to conclude that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
It was reported that Israel had committed four of the five prohibited acts under the 1948 Genocide Convention, including murder, causing serious bodily or mental harm, inflicting conditions of life calculated to destroy the group, and imposing measures intended to prevent the group from reproducing.
According to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than 50,000 children have been killed or injured by Israeli forces since Israel began its war in Gaza.
The organization noted that since the so-called „ceasefire” that came into effect last October, an average of one Palestinian child has died in Gaza every day for more than eight months.
On Monday, the UN also warned that children are „increasingly vulnerable” as humanitarian groups and rights defenders are forced to scale back their operations in the Palestinian territories.
According to the report, Palestinian children are not only killed or injured, but are also held in Israeli prisons, where they are subjected to torture and other serious ill-treatment, including sexual abuse.
There has been a significant increase in the number of arrests and detentions of Palestinians, including children, in the occupied territories since Israel launched the Gaza War.
The Palestinian rights group Defence for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) said in March that more than half of Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons at the end of last year were being held without charge or trial.
The UN report also noted that outside of Gaza, Israeli forces have demolished orphanages and educational institutions in the occupied West Bank, affecting the cognitive, social and emotional development of Palestinian children.
The UN committee said it had identified the Israeli military units responsible for the attacks on children and called on Israel to cease the violence.
„Even if the bombs and guns fall silent in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian children will not recover overnight,” Muralidhar said.
„The protection, care and survival of Palestinian children are inseparable from the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination,” he added. „By targeting children, Israel directly attacks the Palestinian people’s ability to exist and determine their future.”
Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the committee's "second defamatory, biased report.".
„Israel rejects this defamatory fabrication,” the statement said, adding that while „every child deserves protection,” the report ignores „Hamas” brutal tactics.”.
Sources:
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The UN report (UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry):
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The report referred to in the articles is From the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel) comes from.
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It is an official UN body, established by the UN Human Rights Council Such reports are usually published on the official UN website (UN.org) in the „Human Rights Council” section.
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Supporting/Disclosing Organizations:
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UNICEF: The source of statistics on violence against children and the number of victims is the United Nations Children's Fund.
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DCIP (Defence for Children International-Palestine): The source of specific data on the detention and human rights of Palestinian children is this independent, non-governmental human rights organization, which regularly publishes reports on the situation of children living in the occupied territories.
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