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A United Nations commission of inquiry has alleged that Israel’s actions in Gaza have involved the deliberate targeting and killing of Palestinian children, describing the findings as amounting to genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Gaza, along with war crimes in the occupied West Bank.
The report, released on Tuesday by the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, examined alleged violations against Palestinian children since the beginning of the war in October 2023, Al Jazeera reported.
According to the commission’s findings, children accounted for nearly 30 per cent of those killed in Gaza during the conflict. The report also highlighted the impact of attacks on healthcare facilities, particularly neonatal and maternity centres, saying such damage had affected reproductive health, increased risks for newborns, and contributed to higher rates of miscarriages, birth complications, and long-term health problems.
The inquiry further stated that restrictions on humanitarian aid during the war had severely affected children in Gaza, contributing to deaths linked to hunger, worsening health conditions, and declining vaccination coverage.
Commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said the evidence reviewed by the panel indicated that Palestinian children had been intentionally targeted by Israeli security forces.
The commission was created in 2021 by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate alleged violations of international law, human rights abuses, and the underlying causes of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In an earlier report issued in September 2025, the commission said it had found reasonable grounds to conclude that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza. It said its assessment was based on actions that corresponded to four prohibited acts under the 1948 Genocide Convention, including killings, causing serious physical and psychological harm, creating conditions aimed at destroying a group, and measures affecting reproduction.
The report also referred to figures from UNICEF, which said that more than 50,000 Palestinian children had been killed or injured by Israeli forces since the start of the war.
Beyond Gaza, the commission raised concerns about the impact of Israeli military actions in the occupied West Bank, including damage to orphanages and educational facilities. It said such disruptions had affected children’s emotional, social, and cognitive development.
The inquiry stated that it had identified Israeli military units allegedly responsible for attacks affecting children and called on Israel to end actions that harm Palestinian children. Muralidhar said the consequences of targeting children extended beyond immediate casualties and affected the Palestinian community’s ability to sustain itself and shape its future.