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UN: Children Deliberately Targeted
A United Nations commission of inquiry says Israel continues to deliberately target and kill Palestinian children in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, and that the pattern amounts to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“A United Nations commission of inquiry says Israel continues to deliberately target and kill Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and war crimes in the occupied West Bank”
The commission’s report, published on Tuesday, found that about 30 percent of people killed in Gaza since the start of the war were children, and it said Israel’s targeting of neonatal and maternity care centres during its war on Gaza directly endangered Palestinians’ reproductive future and the survival of newborns.
UNICEF data cited by Al Jazeera says more than 50,000 children have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since Israel began its war on Gaza, and it also said one Palestinian child has been killed every day on average for more than eight months in Gaza since the so-called “ceasefire” took effect last October.
Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said, “The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” and he added that even after the October 2025 ceasefire, “children continue to be killed and seriously injured.”
Israel Denies, UN Cites Intent
The UN inquiry’s findings were rejected by Israel, which in a statement called the commission’s report “a propaganda piece as outrageous as its previous ones,” and CBC News reported that the Israel Defence Forces did not respond to requests for comment.
CBC News also described specific incidents tied to the commission’s broader claims, including the May 21 killing of 13-year-old Jude Muhammad Dweik in Beit Lahia after his family said a quadcopter drone dropped a bomb on the group.
In the commission’s account, Srinivasan Muralidhar said the deliberate targeting of children is central to genocidal intent, warning that “children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire.”
Le Monde reported that the commission said it had found evidence that “Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli security forces,” and it framed that as a key factor in establishing the genocidal intent of Israeli authorities and security forces.
What’s at Stake Next
The commission said its findings extend beyond Gaza, documenting that Israeli forces destroyed orphanages and education facilities in the occupied West Bank, affecting Palestinian children’s cognitive, social and emotional care and development.
It also said it identified Israeli military units responsible for attacking children and called on Israel to cease violence against Palestinian children, while warning that “Even if the bombs and guns fall silent in Gaza and West Bank, Palestinian children will not simply recover overnight.”
Al Jazeera reported that the UN also warned children were being left “increasingly unprotected” as humanitarian groups and rights defenders were forced to scale back their operations in the Palestinian territory.
In its legal rebuttal, UN Watch argued that the commission relies on “a one-sided evidentiary record” and that it “repeatedly draws conclusions regarding intent, knowledge, and targeting decisions” from witness testimony that is often impossible to independently verify.
