A United Nations (UN) commission of inquiry has found that Israel deliberately targeted and killed children “to destroy the existence of the Palestinians in Gaza” and committed genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. .The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, has said that it has “reasonable grounds to conclude that these acts form part of a deliberate strategy to destroy the future of the Palestinians in Gaza by targeting their children”.The Commission is chaired by Senior Advocate and former Orissa High Court Chief Justice Dr S Muralidhar. “Israel has targeted Palestinian children in Gaza in two distinct ways: directly by shooting at their vital organs using precision weapons such as quadcopters and snipers; and through use of high impact weapons causing widespread and systematic attacks on residential buildings, schools, and displacement camps crowded with children. Israel is also legally responsible for failing to protect Palestinian children from being targeted by Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and for allowing, enabling and encouraging ongoing settler violence, which serves to entrench settlements, annex Palestinian land and force Palestinians off their land,” the paper dated June 18 stated. .It said that between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025, at least 20,179 children were killed and 44,143 children were injured as a direct result of the hostilities in Gaza. “At least 5,031 children under five years were killed during this period, of whom 1,029 children were under the age of one, and some 420 were newborns...Additionally, unknown numbers of children are buried in unmarked graves without their deaths being recorded or are simply missing,” the report said. According to the report, the killings of children continued even after the October 2025 ceasefire. It stressed that “Israel is responsible for causing a severe orphan crisis”.“The Commission has also documented incidents of sexual and gender-based violence targeting Palestinian children, often during arrests or in detention, causing severe physical and mental harm. Consistent with the Commission’s previous findings on sexual violence committed against Palestinians, Israeli security forces used sexual violence as a tactic of war to punish, instil fear, and treat the bodies of Palestinians, including children, as instruments of collective shaming and oppression, entrenched within a prolonged, ethnic, gendered, and intergenerational pattern of Israeli occupation and hostilities.”.The report argues that attacks on hospitals, schools and other civilian infrastructure have had devastating consequences for children's survival and development. The destruction of healthcare facilities, including neonatal and maternity services, has contributed to rising infant health risks, disabilities and long-term medical complications. The Commission further states that Israel's blockade and siege have caused severe malnutrition, disease and food insecurity among children.It concludes that years of conflict, displacement, violence and deprivation have inflicted profound psychological trauma on Palestinian children, undermining their sense of safety, identity, hope and prospects..The Commission recommended the UN Security Council to completely ban “two-way military-related trade with Israel” and impose comprehensive sanctions - including travel bans, asset freezes and financial restrictions - on Israeli officials, military commanders and personnel who may bear responsibility for international crimes committed in Gaza since October 2023. It also urged the UN member states to help prevent further violations by enforcing International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrants, investigating suspected crimes and imposing sanctions on Israeli officials and extremist settlers linked to abuses against Palestinian children. It urged countries to halt arms transfers that could facilitate violations of international law, press Israel to end the Gaza siege and allow humanitarian aid, support accountability for victims and back an inclusive political process that upholds Palestinian self-determination and long-term peace.“List Israeli settlers, as an extension of the State of Israel, in the annexes of the next annual report on children and armed conflict as “persistent perpetrators” for child killing, maiming and sexual violence,” the Commission asked the UN Secretary General. .[Read the entire report]
