Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, has reported that Israeli forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children, resulting in widespread casualties and trauma. The commission's chair, Srinivasan Muralidhar, stated that evidence shows Palestinian children were deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli security forces following Hamas' invasion of Israel in late 2023.
The report covers the period after the conflict began, when Hamas' invasion caused 1,200 deaths and 250 hostages, and the subsequent Israeli military actions in Gaza, which reportedly claimed over 70,000 Palestinian lives. Despite a ceasefire in October 2025, the killing and serious injury of children has continued, with Israel allegedly disregarding the ceasefire and protections owed to Palestinian children under international law, according to the commission.
The commission found that 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed and 44,000 injured since 7 October 2023. Children have suffered severe physical and mental injuries, including trauma, orphanhood, separation, disability, repeated displacements, starvation, and collapse of essential services such as education and healthcare. These conditions have gravely disrupted childhoods and will have long-term impacts.
The report also states that Palestinian children have been subjected to arrest, torture, and severe mistreatment in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, with no information on their whereabouts. Additionally, Israeli security forces have used sexual violence against children as part of ongoing oppression tied to the ethnic, gendered, and intergenerational dynamics of occupation and hostilities.
The commission presented testimonies indicating deliberate targeting and killing of children by Israeli forces. Commissioner Chris Sidoti emphasized that these actions violate all international legal norms regarding the protection of Palestinian children and highlighted the need to hold Israeli authorities accountable.