Key facts
- Israeli forces killed 54 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, the highest rate since 1967.
- Nearly 25% of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the occupied territory since October 2023 have been minors.
- No accountability or indictments are known for the killings of Palestinian children since October 2023.
- B'Tselem attributes the deaths to Israeli policy, lax rules of engagement, and impunity.
- Israeli military commander Avi Bluth stated that the army was killing Palestinians at levels not seen since 1967.
Israeli forces are killing Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank at the highest rate since 1967, with 54 minors shot dead in 2025, according to a report by the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem. The group highlighted that nearly a quarter of all Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the occupied territory since October 2023 have been children, a proportion not seen since the occupation began.
Despite the significant death toll, B'Tselem stated that no one has been held accountable for these killings, and no indictments are known since October 2023. The organization asserts that these deaths are not isolated incidents but rather the result of a broader Israeli policy that permits lenient rules of engagement, frequently labels Palestinians as "terrorists," and shields soldiers who employ lethal force.
B'Tselem's Executive Director, Yuli Novak, stated that the "widespread, unprecedented killing of Palestinian children and teenagers in the West Bank is the result of a broader Israeli policy that enables the killing of Palestinians with virtually no accountability." She further noted that comments from Israeli military officials, such as Area Commander Avi Bluth, confirm this, suggesting a "license to kill."
Avi Bluth, who has commanded Israeli forces in the West Bank since 2024, reportedly said in a closed forum that the army was killing Palestinians at levels not seen since 1967. He defended looser rules of engagement that allow troops to open fire on unarmed Palestinians and acknowledged a discriminatory approach where Palestinian stone-throwers are targeted, unlike Jewish stone-throwers. Bluth stated, "The Arabs understand that 'if someone rises to kill you, kill him first' is part of the rules of the Middle East, and therefore we are killing like we have not killed since 1967."
Data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) indicates that Israeli forces have killed 1,105 Palestinians in the West Bank and occupied East Jerusalem since October 7, 2023, including at least 242 children. B'Tselem also reported that in nearly a quarter of documented cases, Israeli forces delayed or prevented medical teams from reaching wounded children, contributing to their deaths. Additionally, Israeli authorities are reportedly holding the bodies of at least 18 children killed in 2025.
B'Tselem drew a connection between the killings in the West Bank and the situation in Gaza, noting that Israel's actions in Gaza have also disproportionately affected children. The organization argued that the international community's lack of consequences for Israel's actions in Gaza has effectively granted it a "green light" to pursue similar lethal policies in the West Bank, leaving Palestinian lives unprotected.