UN commission of inquiry says Israel has deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip, and war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
The report alleges that Israeli authorities and security forces have“deliberately carried out acts inflicting death and severe bodily and mental harm on hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children”, and that killings continued even after the October ceasefire.
According to the commission, these acts are “part of a deliberate strategy to destroy the future of the Palestinians in Gaza by targeting their children.”
Israel’s foreign ministry has responded by “utterly rejecting” the report, calling it a “libellous sham” and a propaganda piece that unfairly vilifies Israel.
The military campaign began in response to the mass attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Since then, at least 73,035 people have been killed in Gaza—including more than 21,280 children—according to Hamas-run health ministry figures trusted by the UN.
The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel was established in 2021 to investigate alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. Its three‑member panel does not officially speak for the UN.
In its earlier 2024 report, the commission accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, concluding that four of the five acts of genocide defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention had been carried out. Israel has denied these claims, describing them as distorted and false.
Israeli claims of compliance with international law are that their operations in Gaza are defensive measures, aiming to eliminate Hamas and secure the release of hostages.
Flaws highlighted by the commission include targeting high‑impact weapons against residential buildings, schools, and displacement camps, and using precision weapons such as quadcopter drones and snipers to strike vital organs. The report also points to alleged starvation tactics, restricted humanitarian aid, and systematic disruption of education.
Separately, the commission indicates that Israeli forces have not only munitions attacks but also perpetrated arrests, torture, sexual and gender‑based violence against children in West Bank detention facilities.
Israel’s foreign ministry criticized the inquiry as a “fundamentally flawed mechanism” that vilifies Israel rather than seeking truth. It also says the report ignored Hamas’ use of children as human shields.
The case is currently before the International Court of Justice, where South Africa has brought a genocide claim, but the outcome may take years. Israel dismisses the case as “wholly unfounded.”
