UN Inquiry Finds Israel Intentionally Targeted Gaza Children as Part of Genocide
Al Jazeera Staff
A United Nations investigation has concluded that Israel intentionally targeted and killed Palestinian children, constituting genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The report highlights that about 30% of those killed are children and details attacks on medical facilities and aid blockades that have exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
A United Nations (UN) inquiry has concluded that Israel continued to intentionally target and kill Palestinian children, leading to genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, as well as war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
In a report released on June 24, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel examined Israel's violations against Palestinian children since Israel began its genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza in October 2023.
According to the report, about 30% of those killed in Gaza since the start of the war are children. The report also indicates that Israel's targeting of neonatal and maternity centers during the war directly threatens the reproductive future of Palestinians and the survival of newborns, increasing miscarriages, birth defects, and long-term injuries.
Furthermore, Israel's blockade of aid into Gaza over the past year has had severe consequences for Palestinian children, leading to deaths from starvation and increased disease as vaccination rates have dropped.
Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar stated: "Evidence shows that Palestinian children have been intentionally targeted and killed by Israeli security forces. Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with Israel's continued disregard for the ceasefire and its obligation to protect Palestinian children under international law."
The commission was established on May 27, 2021, during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, with the mandate to investigate allegations of violations of international law and human rights abuses, as well as to explore the "root causes" of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In a September 2025 report, the commission concluded there were reasonable grounds to determine that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Accordingly, Israel carried out four of the five prohibited acts defining genocide under the 1948 Genocide Convention, including killing, causing serious bodily or mental harm, imposing conditions intended to destroy a group, and imposing measures to prevent births within that group.
According to the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), more than 50,000 children have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since the war began. The agency noted that on average, one Palestinian child has died daily in Gaza over more than eight months since the ceasefire took effect in October 2025.
On June 23, the UN also warned that children are increasingly "unprotected" as humanitarian groups and human rights defenders are forced to scale back operations in the Palestinian territory.
In addition to being killed or wounded, the report said Palestinian children have also been arrested, tortured in Israeli prisons, and subjected to other severe forms of mistreatment, including sexual abuse. Arrests and detentions of Palestinians across the occupied territories, including children, have surged since Israel launched its war in Gaza. Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) said in March that more than half of Palestinian children held in Israeli prisons at the end of last year were detained without charge or trial.
The UN report also noted that, beyond Gaza, Israeli forces have destroyed orphanages and educational facilities in the West Bank, affecting the cognitive, social, and emotional development of Palestinian children. The commission said it has identified Israeli military units responsible for targeting children and called on Israel to end violence against Palestinian children.
Mr. Muralidhar said: "Even when the bombs fall silent in Gaza and the West Bank, Palestinian children will not recover overnight. The protection, care, and survival of Palestinian children cannot be separated from the Palestinian right to self-determination. By targeting children, Israel is attacking the very ability of Palestinians to exist and determine their future."
