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A new United Nations report has stated that Israel recorded the highest number of grave violations against children in armed conflicts during 2025, with government forces identified as the leading perpetrators of such violations for the first time since the UN’s Children and Armed Conflict monitoring system was established three decades ago.
The annual report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict documented 38,558 verified grave violations against children in 2025, marking the fourth consecutive year of record-level figures and the highest number since monitoring began, Maktoob Media reported.
According to the report, 24,174 children were affected by serious violations, including killings and injuries, recruitment by armed groups, abductions, sexual violence, attacks on schools and hospitals, and restrictions on humanitarian assistance. It noted that many children experienced multiple forms of abuse and that nearly one-third of those affected were girls.
The report said the rise in violations was linked to intensified conflicts, greater use of explosive weapons in populated areas and concerns over the growing role of artificial intelligence in military targeting.
Killing and maiming remained the most frequently recorded violations. The UN documented 6,266 child deaths and 7,958 injuries, with child fatalities increasing by 34% compared with the previous year.
The report also recorded 8,322 cases involving denial of humanitarian access, 6,607 instances of children being recruited or used in conflicts, and 5,129 child abductions. It noted that sexual violence against children continued at severe levels, with gang rape increasingly being reported as a method used during conflicts.
The highest number of verified violations was recorded in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with 12,445 cases, followed by the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar and Somalia.
The UN report stated that the majority of violations in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory were attributed to Israeli forces. Of the total violations recorded against 5,663 children, 9,465 were attributed to Israeli armed and security forces and 326 to Israeli settlers.
The report said the UN verified the deaths of 2,725 Palestinian children, including 2,668 in Gaza and 57 in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. It added that responsibility for another 2,518 verified child deaths was still under review.
It also recorded the deaths of five children in Israel, attributing them to attacks involving Iranian forces and an individual Palestinian.
The UN further reported that 2,921 Palestinian children were injured, with most cases occurring in Gaza and many attributed to Israeli armed and security forces. It also documented the detention of 981 Palestinian children by Israeli forces or Palestinian Authority security forces, along with allegations of physical abuse and mistreatment of children held in Israeli detention.
The report highlighted the death of one Palestinian child in Israeli custody, saying medical findings raised concerns about severe malnutrition and lack of adequate healthcare.
It also recorded 828 attacks on schools and hospitals, of which 773 were attributed to Israeli armed and security forces, along with 5,946 incidents involving denial of humanitarian access, including 5,716 attributed to Israeli forces.
Among other findings, the UN documented cases involving the use of Palestinian children as human shields by Israeli forces and recorded multiple incidents of conflict-related sexual violence affecting Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank.