A United Nations Commission of Inquiry has concluded that the killing and systematic harm of Palestinian children has been central to Israel's genocidal campaign in Gaza, alongside a pattern of war crimes and crimes against humanity affecting young people in both Gaza and the West Bank since October 2023. The findings are detailed in a report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, titled “The Essence of Childhood,” reflecting the collapse of nearly every protection owed to children under international law.
Deliberate Targeting of Children
In an interview with Arab News, the commission's chairperson, Justice Srinivasan Muralidhar, stated that the conclusions were based on a documented pattern of tactics by Israeli forces and settlers specifically targeting children, including the use of drone-mounted weapons like quadcopters. Medical practitioners testified about large numbers of infants and young children with gunshot wounds to the head, skull, and neck, including a baby shot through the head by a quadcopter while feeding at her mother’s breast. “This can’t be just collateral damage or an incidental outcome of a targeted killing of a population,” Muralidhar said. “We are finding a whole trend where children are specifically being targeted by the Israeli forces.”
Genocidal Intent Established
The commission found that the killing of Palestinian children, infliction of serious physical and mental harm, and deliberate imposition of harsh conditions—including starvation, destruction of hospitals, and blockade on humanitarian aid—were carried out with the specific intention of destroying Palestinians as a group “in whole or in part,” the core definition of genocide under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention. The deliberate targeting of children, who embody the biological and social continuity of the Palestinian people, was central to establishing this intent, reinforcing a previous determination of genocide by the commission.
Staggering Casualty Figures
At least 20,179 children were killed and 44,143 injured in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and October 7, 2025, representing about 30 percent of all those killed—a sharply higher proportion than during previous escalations in 2008-09 and 2014. At least 5,031 children under age 5 were killed, including about 420 newborns, and an estimated 5,160 children remain buried under rubble, according to Save the Children. Killings continued after the October 2025 ceasefire, particularly near the “yellow line” demarcation zone, with more than 100 children killed between October 2025 and mid-January 2026. The commission investigated the case of two brothers, aged 9 and 10, killed by a drone while gathering firewood near Khan Younis in late November, concluding they could not plausibly have posed a threat.
Detailed Findings: Hind Rajab and Sniper Attacks
The report reconstructed the killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab and six family members in Tal Al-Hawa in January 2024 when their vehicle came under Israeli fire, as well as the shelling of a Palestine Red Crescent Society ambulance sent to help her, attributed to the Israeli military’s 401st Brigade. Dozens of cases of children shot by snipers or quadcopter drones were documented, with precision and pattern of wounds—many to the head or upper body—indicating deliberate targeting.
Destruction of Healthcare and Education
Extensive sections of the report detailed the destruction of healthcare for children, including the collapse of neonatal intensive care capacity, deaths of premature infants from hypothermia or lack of incubators, and a 41 percent decline in live births during the first half of 2025 compared to 2022. Muralidhar said five out of six functioning hospitals in Gaza were completely destroyed, and doctors described performing amputations on infants without anesthesia. Medical staff used grim shorthand: “WCNSF” for wounded child with no surviving family; “brain matter out” for children with split skulls; and “precious child” for the only surviving child in a family. “Nothing can be worse for a doctor than to watch helplessly while somebody who has to be treated, whose life has to be saved, is allowed to die,” Muralidhar said.
The report also documented near-total destruction of the education system, with more than 97 percent of schools damaged or destroyed, and Israeli forces carrying out controlled demolitions of schools and universities that the commission said were deliberate and unnecessary.
Detentions and West Bank Violence
On detentions, the commission found Palestinian children as young as 5 locked up with adults, subjected to beatings, prolonged stress positions, and in some cases sexual violence. It documented the preventable death of a 17-year-old boy at Megiddo Prison in March 2025 due to deliberate deprivation of food, water, and medical care. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, 213 Palestinian children—mostly boys—were killed by Israeli security forces between October 2023 and October 2025, attributed to a “gendered security framing” treating Palestinian boys as presumptive threats. Settler violence against children increased sharply, including abductions, beatings, and sexual assault of two boys while herding cattle.
Dehumanization and Psychological Impact
The commission documented Israeli soldiers filming themselves mocking, destroying, or weaponizing children’s playthings in Gaza, sometimes attaching toys to tanks. Muralidhar described such conduct as “sadistic,” adding: “Even things which can bring some joy to children, they are being tampered with … We’ve said, ‘You’re destroying the childhood of Palestinian children. And this is very deliberate.’” He noted that attacks on maternity wards, starvation, and destruction of schools undermine the right to a meaningful life, including shelter, safety, family, and play. Children have been rendered mute by constant bombardment, “completely stunned into silence,” and many play with unexploded ordnance or in sewage water. “We’re going to have several generations of Palestinian children who will not see this full personhood,” he added.
Evidence and Recommendations
The commission based its findings on evidence subjected to strict scientific scrutiny, aligned with protocols of the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court. Muralidhar rejected allegations of bias, stating: “The only concern is that justice should be done to all victims, whether such victims are Israeli children, Israeli women, Israeli men, or Palestinian women, men and children.” The report called on Israeli authorities to halt military operations near the yellow line, comply with ICJ orders, release data on child detainees, and end the policy of withholding bodies of Palestinian children. It urged UN member states to suspend arms transfers to Israel where they could be used in international crimes, and called on the Security Council to impose sanctions on Israeli officials and commanders responsible for violations. It also recommended that the ICC prosecutor devote particular attention to crimes against children in the Palestine investigation. The commission named several Israeli military units bearing particular responsibility, including the 401st Brigade, 162nd Division, 98th and 99th Divisions, and the Duvdevan Unit.
