B'Tselem Says Israeli Army Killed 54 Palestinian Children in West Bank Since January 2025

Le Monde.fr says the Israeli NGO B'Tselem documents the death of 54 minors killed by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since January 2025, and describes cases where soldiers blocked care and withheld bodies.

“(CNN) An Israeli human rights organization condemned on Monday the 'killing of Palestinian children and adolescents in the occupied West Bank amid near-total impunity'”

CNN Arabic

CNN Arabic reports B'Tselem said at least 240 Palestinian children and adolescents have been killed in the West Bank since Hamas's attack on October 7, 2023, and Israel's war on Gaza, “the vast majority of them by Israeli soldiers.”

CNN Arabic

Le Monde.fr also cites UN figures that since October 7, 2023, the Israeli army has prevented or slowed down aid 240 times in the West Bank after having been shot at by minors and adults, with all dying of their injuries, according to the count by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

CNN Arabic adds that B'Tselem said 54 Palestinian children and adolescents were killed in the West Bank last year, down from a peak of 120 in 2023, but still far above the number killed in previous years.

Le Monde.fr frames the pattern as a consequence of occupation, quoting B'Tselem that “Since October 2023, Israel has been waging a large-scale assault on all aspects of Palestinian life in the West Bank.”

CNN Arabic says B'Tselem warned that no charges have been filed in cases involving children killed in the West Bank since the start of the war in Gaza, and that the group links the killings to a policy that broadens the circumstances under which soldiers are allowed to shoot and kill, including children.

In the same CNN Arabic report, B'Tselem executive director Yuli Novak blamed the deaths on “a broader Israeli policy that allows killing Palestinians without any meaningful accountability”.

Euronews

CNN Arabic also reports that in response to B'Tselem, the Israeli army rejected the report and said it does not intentionally target civilians, adding that any claim of harm is being carefully checked and investigated by the competent authorities.

The Israeli army, CNN Arabic says, claimed it carried out wide-scale counterterrorism operations in the West Bank and that 96% of Palestinians killed in the West Bank from 2023 to 2024 were involved in terrorist activity.

Le Monde.fr, meanwhile, says B'Tselem describes the killings as tied to “impunity enjoyed by soldiers,” and it notes that B'Tselem identifies 12 cases in 2025 where children and adolescents were seriously wounded and left without care, sometimes for several tens of minutes, without rescuers being allowed to intervene.

France 24 reports that in central and southern Gaza, two Israeli airstrikes on Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis killed five people, including a child, and left dozens wounded, as near-daily bombardment continues despite a truce in effect since last October.

“Gaza: Five Palestinians killed and dozens wounded in Israeli airstrikes in central and southern Gaza”

France 24

France 24 quotes Mahmoud Bassal, spokesman for the Civil Defense, saying three martyrs, including a child, and five wounded were the result of a strike carried out by an Israeli drone that targeted a group of civilians near the Wadi al-Salqa Bridge in Deir al-Balah.

The Guardian links the West Bank pattern to Gaza, saying B'Tselem’s report does not separate what is happening in the West Bank from developments in the Gaza Strip, where the war has killed 73,066 people.

The Guardian also quotes B'Tselem saying: “When the world allows Israel to kill this enormous number of children in Gaza without bearing any consequences, it effectively gives it the green light to apply the same deadly policy in the West Bank as well.”

In the Guardian’s letter, Dr Philip Goodwin of Unicef UK says that since January 2025, at least one Palestinian child has been killed on average every week in the West Bank, and calls for immediate and decisive action to protect Palestinian children in line with international law.