Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children, which led to the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in the Gaza Strip, in addition to war crimes in the occupied West Bank, according to a United Nations report. Independent UN investigation.
The report, published on June 23, indicates that this targeting led to the killing of at least 20,179 Palestinian children, and the injury of 44,143 others over a three-year period, from 2023 to 2026. The killings continued after the October 2025 ceasefire agreement in Gaza.
He adds that 30% of all Palestinians killed by Israeli security forces in Gaza were children.
According to the report, Israeli actions “form part of a deliberate strategy to destroy the future of Palestinians in Gaza by targeting their children.” The report adds that this finding is essential to prove Israel’s genocidal intent to destroy the Palestinian community in Gaza, in whole or in part.
Last September, the same committee concluded that Israel had committed genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. A 2025 a report He stated that the Israeli authorities and security forces committed four of the five acts of genocide defined by the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
She called Israel September 2025 report “defamatory.”
In addition, the investigation examines “the sharp increase in violence committed by Israeli settlers against Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
In 2021, he established the United Nations Human Rights Council The Independent International Commission of Inquiry into the Occupied Palestinian Territory and IsraelIt includes an expert committee of three members.
Against the backdrop of ongoing persecution and marginalization in Gaza, Israel launched a war on the Strip following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.At least 73,035 people Israel has since killed them in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry.
In a statement “Violence against women and children contributes to the forced displacement of Palestinian communities,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, which accompanies the latest report.
Moraldar also called for an end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a answer to the United Nations investigation, claiming that the report was “not independent at all.” He also states that the report is “full of errors and distortions, and its sole purpose is to promote a politically motivated anti-Israel narrative.”
The report finds that attacks and closures of children’s hospitals have led to the systematic denial of vital medical services to Palestinian children, including the complete collapse of neonatal care in Gaza. The committee also describes widespread shortages of medicines, anesthetics and surgical equipment, leading to highly unsafe operating conditions.
Regarding education, the report notes that Israeli attacks on schools in Gaza have effectively eliminated access to education for Palestinian children in the Strip.
It also concludes that the extent of the educational disruption in Gaza threatens the intellectual and social foundations of Palestinian society.
The report also highlights the psychological damage to Palestinian children following the destruction of mental health infrastructure in Gaza.
The report states that the vast majority of Gaza’s 1.2 million children need psychosocial and mental health support, while suicidal thoughts were found to be common among Palestinian children.
The ongoing Israeli war on Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon has drawn widespread international condemnation. The Egyptian government continues condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank, as have other European governments, e.g Spainthe UKand Italy.