{"id":318995,"date":"2026-06-23T13:36:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=318995"},"modified":"2026-06-23T13:36:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T17:36:37","slug":"uncoi-press-release-23jun26","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/uncoi-press-release-23jun26\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel continues to commit genocide and other atrocity crimes by deliberately targeting Palestinian children"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

23 June 2026<\/p>\n

GENEVA\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately targeted Palestinian children resulting in genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel said in a new\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

The Commission, which\u00a0concluded<\/a>\u00a0last year that Israel had committed genocide against the Palestinian group in the Gaza Strip, found that the intense scale and systematic nature of the Israeli military operations have continued \u2013 resulting in unprecedented death, injury and trauma of Palestinian children.<\/p>\n

The Commission reiterates that the deliberate targeting of children is one of the key elements establishing genocidal intent of the Israeli authorities and security forces to destroy the Palestinian group, in whole or in part, in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,\u201d said Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission. \u201cEven after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Severe physical and mental injuries, mass trauma, orphanhood, separation, disability, repeated displacements, starvation, and the collapse of education and healthcare have erased childhood and will continue to affect children in Gaza throughout their lives.<\/p>\n

Palestinian children have been arrested and subjected to torture and other severe forms of mistreatment in Israeli prisons and detention facilities, with no information on their whereabouts. Israeli security forces have also used sexual violence against children as part of the collective shaming and oppression, entrenched within a prolonged, ethnic, gendered, and intergenerational pattern of Israeli occupation and hostilities.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s targeting of neonatal and maternity care centers in Gaza have directly harmed the survival of newborns and Palestinians\u2019 reproductive future, including rises in miscarriages, birth defects and lasting vulnerabilities among newborns, resulting in the destruction of Palestinian newborn life and the population\u2019s continuity. Starvation imposed by Israel through blockade and siege have further caused the death of Palestinian children and severely impacted the health of many others, depriving them of essential nutrition and increasing disease risks amid reduced immunization, food insecurity and destroyed health services.<\/p>\n

In parallel, the dismantling and destruction of orphanages and education facilities in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have obstructed children\u2019s cognitive, social and emotional care and development and disrupted the foundations of Palestinian society.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if the bombs and guns fall silent in Gaza and West Bank, Palestinian children will not simply recover overnight,\u201d said Muralidhar. \u201cThe destruction of their health, education and development is irreversible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Palestinian children have suffered immense psychological harm, having been stripped of any sense of safety and future. Mental harm is an intergenerational condition, producing a distinctive \u201coccupied psyche\u201d in which the freedom to play, imagine, hope, and develop an identity has been eroded.<\/p>\n

By targeting children, Israel is eroding the foundational structure of Palestinian society, weakening the demographic vitality, and overall capacity of the Palestinian people to sustain and exercise its right to determine its future as a people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe protection, care and survival of Palestinian children are inseparable from the Palestinian people\u2019s right to self- determination,\u201d said Muralidhar. \u201cBy targeting children, Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and to determine their future.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Commission calls for Israel to cease committing violations and crimes against and affecting Palestinian children. The Commission further calls for the end of Israel\u2019s continuing presence in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in compliance with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n

The Commission has identified military units within the Israeli security forces responsible for killing and injuring of Palestinian children and makes recommendations to Israel and to all Member States to ensure accountability for such crimes.<\/p>\n

The international community as a whole must uphold their international legal obligations and call for an end to the hostilities, for Israel to end its occupation and to prioritize accountability and access to justice for victims as an integral component of any political process, grounded in the meaningful participation of Palestinians, including children.<\/p>\n

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