A new UN inquiry has said that Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, resulting in genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The report also found evidence of war crimes against Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
The investigation was conducted by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. It examined violations against Palestinian children since October 2023 and found that children account for nearly 30% of all deaths in Gaza since the war began.
According to the commission, attacks on maternity and neonatal healthcare services have endangered newborns and harmed Palestinians’ reproductive future. The report noted that the targeting of these services contributed to increased miscarriages, birth complications and long-term health risks.
The inquiry also found that Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian aid had devastating consequences for children. Shortages of food, medicine and vaccines led to starvation-related deaths and increased disease outbreaks, while falling immunisation rates left more children vulnerable to illness.
The commission was established on May 27, 2021, during a special session of the UN Human Rights Council. It was tasked with investigating violations of international law and human rights abuses in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem.
The findings build on a September 2025 UN report that determined there were reasonable grounds to conclude that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. According to UNICEF, more than 50,000 Palestinian children have been killed or injured by Israeli forces since the start of the war.
The agency has also reported that, on average, one Palestinian child has been killed every day in Gaza for more than eight months since the so-called October 2025 “ceasefire” took effect.
The report comes as the UN has warned that Palestinian children are being left increasingly unprotected as humanitarian organizations and human rights groups are forced to scale back their operations across Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
