GENEVA, June 23 - An independent U.N. inquiry has concluded that Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children in Gaza, producing what the commission says constitutes genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Gaza, and war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
The report, produced by the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, analyzed violations against Palestinian children since the outbreak of hostilities between Israel and Hamas on October 7, 2023. It lays out detailed findings on child fatalities, attacks on health services and reproductive care, mass displacement, and patterns of mistreatment of children in detention.
Key findings on child casualties and conduct of hostilities
The commission reports that between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025 at least 20,179 children were killed, representing roughly 30% of the overall death toll in Gaza during that two-year period. The inquiry notes that the proportion of children killed in this conflict exceeds that seen in earlier Gaza hostilities, where children accounted for about 24% of conflict-related fatalities in 2008-2009 and 2014.
The commission asserts that Israeli forces continued to use high-payload munitions and weapons with wide-area effects in densely populated residential areas despite mounting child casualties. The report states that such patterns of weapon use indicate intentionality, concluding that children were deliberately targeted and killed, including after a ceasefire came into effect in October 2025. The report identifies this targeting of children as a central element establishing genocidal intent by Israeli authorities and security forces to destroy the Palestinian group, in whole or in part, in Gaza.
“The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, the commission’s chair, in a statement accompanying the report.
Humanitarian and health impacts on children
The inquiry documents severe harms to children’s health and development caused by conditions imposed in Gaza, including widespread attacks, repeated displacement and starvation resulting from a blockade limiting aid, food and medicine. These constraints, the report says, produced preventable deaths and trauma. It further reports attacks on healthcare and reproductive facilities that affected newborn survival, increases in miscarriages, and that nearly all children in Gaza were reported to require psychological support.
In response to the report’s findings on humanitarian impact, Israel’s mission in Geneva said the report ignored what it described as "the brutal tactics of Hamas" and emphasized that "every child deserves protection." The mission also labelled the commission’s publication a "second defamatory advocacy report," saying that "Israel dismisses this libelous sham."
Israel’s rebuttal additionally argued that the report did not mention Israel’s reported role in facilitating vaccinations, permitting the entry of medical staff, and in establishing field hospitals. The rebuttal accused Hamas of systematically diverting humanitarian aid and fuel intended for hospitals; Hamas has rejected such accusations.
Findings in the West Bank and East Jerusalem
The commission documented a sharp rise in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian children in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. It also recorded evidence of torture and sexual and gender-based violence during mass arrests and detention operations. The inquiry reports that Palestinian children, particularly boys, were subjected to systematic mistreatment in detention, including forced stripping, beatings and food deprivation.
Based on these findings, the commission concluded that the treatment of detained children in the West Bank amounted to the crimes against humanity of torture and other inhumane acts causing great suffering or serious injury.
Israel’s rebuttal to the report on West Bank findings said the commission omitted context regarding a "constant terrorist threat" that Israeli security forces were responding to, framing its actions within that security context.
Context within the commission’s reporting
The commission’s latest report follows an earlier report published in September that similarly concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and alleged that top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had incited these acts. Those accusations were called scandalous by Israel at the time.
The commission’s report catalogues both the immediate human toll on children and broader effects on the capacity of Palestinian society, asserting that by targeting children Israel was undermining the ability of the Palestinian people to exist and determine their future.
Summary of conclusions
- The U.N. commission finds that Palestinian children were deliberately targeted and killed in Gaza, constituting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in that territory, and war crimes in the West Bank.
- The report documents major impacts on healthcare and reproductive services, increases in miscarriages, and widespread psychological harm among children in Gaza.
- In the West Bank, the inquiry documents increased settler violence and systematic mistreatment of children in detention, concluding those practices amounted to torture and other inhumane acts.
The report has been met with formal rejection from Israel’s mission in Geneva, which called the findings defamatory and reiterated assertions that Israel seeks to minimize harm to children in conflict and that Hamas bears responsibility for diverting aid. The commission’s findings and Israel’s rebuttals remain central to an ongoing international debate over accountability and humanitarian conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory.