A recent UN report has alleged that Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children in Gaza, accusing it of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes during the conflict in the region. The investigation by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry revealed that 30% of the individuals killed in Gaza since the Israel-Hamas conflict began were children. The report highlighted that Israeli forces intentionally conducted actions causing death and severe harm to a large number of Palestinian children.
Despite the increasing number of child casualties, the report pointed out that Israeli forces continued to use heavy munitions and weapons in densely populated areas during the conflict. The investigation team emphasized that such attacks, resulting in high child fatalities, were carried out intentionally. Moreover, the report stated that Israeli assaults on Gaza’s hospitals had severely disrupted children’s access to life-saving medical care, jeopardizing their survival as a vulnerable group.
The commission previously concluded that Israel had committed “genocide” in the Gaza conflict, which Israel strongly denied. In a follow-up report, the commission noted that Israeli military operations persisted, leading to unprecedented levels of death, injury, and trauma among Palestinian children. The report further suggested that there were justifiable reasons to believe that Israel’s authorities and security forces were still engaging in genocidal acts in Gaza.
The commission’s chair, Srinivasan Muralidhar, expressed concern over the continuous harm inflicted on Palestinian children by Israel, emphasizing the long-lasting impact on their health, education, and overall development. The report also highlighted instances of Palestinian children being subjected to mistreatment, torture, and sexual violence in Israeli detention facilities. Israel has rejected the commission’s findings, labeling them as defamatory and emphasizing the challenges posed by Hamas’s actions in civilian areas.
Israel’s retaliatory responses to Gaza’s attacks have reportedly resulted in the deaths of over 72,800 individuals, as indicated by local authorities. The commission, established by the UN Human Rights Council, examined the alleged crimes against Palestinian children and the dire situation in Gaza that contributed to preventable child mortality. It reiterated that Israeli forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, leading to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Gaza and the West Bank.
The report underscored the severe physical and psychological impact on children, including trauma, disability, displacement, and the collapse of essential services like education and healthcare. The findings were released shortly after UNICEF reported that at least 265 children had been killed and numerous others injured in Gaza following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
