UN inquiry: Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children, committing genocide

An independent United Nations inquiry has concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, leading to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The report by the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel examined violations against Palestinian children since the war began on October 7, 2023.

The commission found that approximately 30% of those killed in the Gaza war were children, a higher proportion than in previous conflicts. Between October 7, 2023, and October 7, 2025, at least 20,179 children were killed. The report indicated that Israeli forces continued to use high-payload munitions in densely populated residential areas despite mounting child casualties, suggesting these attacks were intentional.

According to the commission's chair, Srinivasan Muralidhar, targeting children undermines the Palestinian people's capacity to exist. The report also detailed how conditions imposed by Israel, including a blockade of aid, food, and medicine, severely harmed children's health and development, leading to preventable deaths and trauma. Attacks on healthcare facilities also impacted newborn survival and led to increased miscarriages.

In the West Bank, the inquiry documented a sharp increase in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian children and evidence of torture, including sexual and gender-based violence, during mass arrests. Palestinian children, particularly boys, were subjected to systematic mistreatment in detention, which the commission concluded constituted crimes against humanity.

Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the report, calling it a 'second defamatory advocacy report' and a 'libelous sham.' Israel stated it consistently strives to minimize harm to children and rejected the suggestion it deliberately targets them. The Israeli rebuttal also claimed the report omitted context regarding the 'constant terrorist threat' and accused Hamas of diverting humanitarian aid, which Hamas has denied.