Published on 6/23/2026
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Last update: 17:02 (Mecca time)
The independent UN Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territories accused Israel of implementing a systematic policy targeting Palestinian children, stressing that the violations committed since October 7, 2023 are not limited to direct killing, but rather extend to what it described as an attempt to undermine the future existence of the Palestinian people by targeting their emerging generations.
In a new report presented by the committee during a press conference in Geneva, it said that the evidence it collected over a period of about two years indicates that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed against Palestinian children, considering that the scale and nature of the violations reflect an organized policy that affects the Palestinian right to survival and self-determination.
Committee Chairman Srinivasan Muralidhar said that the 100-page report documents violations committed by the Israeli authorities and Israeli security forces against Palestinian children in the occupied territories between October 2023 and March 2026, based on evidence, testimonies and field investigations collected by the committee during the last period.
Muralidhar explained that the report is the first specialized international study that focuses exclusively on crimes and violations committed against Palestinian children, adding that the committee found “irrefutable evidence” regarding deliberate killings and direct targeting of children, in addition to torture, inhuman treatment, and sexual violence.
According to the Chairman of the Committee, more than 20,000 Palestinian children were killed, and more than 44,000 others were injured between October 2023 and October 2025, noting that children represent about 30% of the total victims in the occupied Palestinian territories during that period.
He added that the committee documented two main patterns of killing children, the first of which was aerial bombardment using wide-area munitions, and the second was direct fire by snipers and drones, especially targeting the head and upper parts of the body, which the committee considered an indication of the deliberate nature of the attacks.
The report also highlighted the social repercussions of the war, as Muralidhar noted that more than 58,000 children lost one or both parents, while the Palestinian educational system was subjected to widespread destruction, threatening the societal and cultural structure of future generations.
Systematic targeting
According to the committee’s findings, about 97% of schools in Gaza were destroyed or damaged, and 95% of universities were affected, while 22 universities were completely destroyed, which the committee said reflects a systematic targeting of the right of children and youth to education.
The report also touched on the humanitarian situation, stressing that the siege and starvation policies led to the death of 151 children due to malnutrition until October 2025, in addition to recording thousands of serious injuries and amputations among children during the first months of the war.
The committee concluded, according to Muralidhar, that these practices do not only target children as individuals, but also target the future of Palestinian society and its ability to continue, considering that this is directly related to the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to preserve their collective identity.
For her part, committee member Florence Mumba said that the report was based on direct interviews with victims and witnesses, including children, in addition to medical reviews, forensic analyzes and consultations with independent experts, which gave the results a broad and multi-source documentation base.
Mumba confirmed that the committee concluded that the pattern of Israeli behavior during more than two years in Gaza aims to undermine the biological continuity and future existence of the Palestinians, considering that the deliberate targeting of children represents a central element in the report’s conclusions.
She added that what the committee described as “reproductive violence” and the living conditions imposed in the Gaza Strip caused direct harm to newborn children and the reproductive health of Palestinians, in addition to causing avoidable deaths and long-term psychological effects.
The most difficult report
As for committee member Chris Sidoti, he described the report as the most difficult among the 17 reports prepared by the committee since its founding, explaining that the investigations related to children left a special impact on the committee members because of the extent of the suffering and the facts it documented.
Sidoti reviewed the case of a Palestinian girl who was suffering from celiac disease, and said that the siege and the prevention of the entry of appropriate food prevented her from receiving the necessary treatment and care, before she died as a result of acute malnutrition after her request for medical evacuation from the Gaza Strip was rejected.
He also talked about another incident in the West Bank involving a 14-year-old boy who was injured by Israeli force bullets near his home in a refugee camp in Tubas, saying that the soldiers prevented his mother and ambulance crews from reaching him while he continued to bleed for a long time until he died.
Sidoti pointed out that the committee also documented the detention of the child’s body after his killing, considering that this incident reflects a broader pattern of violations targeting Palestinian children in the West Bank, including the use of lethal force and the prevention of medical care.
At the conclusion of the conference, the Committee called on member states, the Security Council and the International Criminal Court to take practical steps to ensure accountability, stressing that it will continue its investigations, document violations, and work to prosecute those responsible and prevent the continuation of impunity.
