Key facts
- A UN commission report found Israel deliberately targets Palestinian children, detailing over 20,000 child deaths and 44,000 injuries since October 2023.
- The report details physical and mental harms, including displacement, starvation, trauma, orphanhood, and disabling injuries.
- The report highlights increased state and settler violence against children in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
- Human rights groups have documented Israel's ongoing violations of Palestinian children's rights for decades.
- The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child urged the international community to hold Israeli authorities accountable.
- Recommendations include ceasing arms transfers to Israel, imposing sanctions, and ensuring prosecution for genocide.
A United Nations commission report has detailed Israel's alleged deliberate targeting of Palestinian children, finding that over 20,000 children have been killed and 44,000 wounded since the assault on Gaza began in October 2023. The report, which focuses on international children's rights law, describes the physical and mental harms inflicted, including displacement, starvation, trauma, orphanhood, disabling injuries, and instances of arrest and torture in Israeli prisons.
The report also highlights an increase in state and settler violence against children in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Human rights organizations and UN bodies have long documented Israel's violations of Palestinian children's rights, with groups like Defence for Children International - Palestine facing raids and forced closures.
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has previously condemned severe violations and urged the international community to hold Israeli authorities accountable. The commission's findings present a "damning indictment" of Israel and the global community for failing to prevent alleged genocide. The report recommends that states cease arms transfers to Israel, impose sanctions, and ensure prosecution of those responsible for carrying out this genocide.