The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel released a report on Tuesday concluding that Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Gaza, as well as war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
Key Findings on Child Casualties
The report examined violations against Palestinian children since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023. It found that around 30% of those killed in the Gaza war were children. Between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025, at least 20,179 children were killed, a proportion higher than in previous conflicts. For comparison, in hostilities in Gaza in 2008–2009 and 2014, children made up approximately 24% of conflict-related fatalities.
Israeli forces continued to use high-payload munitions and weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated residential areas despite mounting child casualties, the commission said. “This indicates that such attacks, which killed children in such high numbers, were intentional,” it stated. The commission believed children were targeted collectively because Israeli security forces considered the civilian population as a whole to be associated with Hamas and other armed groups.
Genocidal Intent and Deliberate Targeting
The commission stated that Palestinian children were deliberately targeted and killed during the war, including after a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025. This was a key element establishing genocidal intent by Israeli authorities and security forces to destroy the Palestinian group, in whole or in part, in Gaza. “The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, the commission's chair, in a statement accompanying the report. He added that by targeting children, Israel was undermining the capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and to determine their future.
A previous report by the commission in September had already found that Israel committed genocide in Gaza and that top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, incited these acts—accusations that Israel called scandalous.
Conditions and Impact on Children
The report detailed that conditions imposed by Israel in Gaza, including widespread attacks, repeated displacement, and starvation caused by the blockade of aid, food, and medicine, severely harmed children’s health and development, resulting in preventable deaths and trauma. Attacks on healthcare and reproductive facilities impacted the survival of newborns, and the report noted increases in miscarriages. Nearly all children in Gaza were reported to require psychological support.
Violations in the West Bank
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the commission found a sharp increase in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian children and documented evidence of torture, including sexual and gender-based violence, during mass arrests and detention. Palestinian children, particularly boys, were subjected to systematic mistreatment in detention, including forced stripping, beatings, and food deprivation. The commission concluded that this treatment constituted the crimes against humanity of torture and other inhumane acts causing great suffering or serious injury.
Israel's Rejection of the Report
Israel's mission in Geneva rejected the report, calling it a “second defamatory advocacy report.” In a statement, Israel said: “Israel dismisses this libellous sham... every child deserves protection,” and asserted that the report ignored “the brutal tactics of Hamas.” A rebuttal shared by Israel's mission said Israel “consistently strives to minimise harm to children even in situations of conflict” and rejected the suggestion it deliberately targets children “in the strongest terms.” The rebuttal also claimed the report failed to mention Israel's role in facilitating vaccinations, entry of medical staff, and establishment of field hospitals, and accused Hamas of systematically diverting humanitarian aid and fuel for hospitals. Hamas has rejected such accusations. The rebuttal further stated that findings on the West Bank omitted context on the “constant terrorist threat” that Israeli security forces were responding to.
