UN Report Accuses Israel Of Genocide In Gaza By Targeting Children

Wed Jun 24 2026 01:26:55 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

The U.N. commission says Israeli forces deliberately kill Palestinian children, a claim Israel denies as propaganda.

A new report from the U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry alleges that Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, constituting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The commission cites over 73,000 deaths, including more than 21,000 children, in Israeli operations that continued even after a 2025 ceasefire. Israel’s foreign ministry rejects the findings, calling them libellous, while the report warns that such targeting undermines the whole of Palestinian society. The report also highlights systemic abuse in West Bank detention centers and the use of starvation as a weapon. International legal bodies are already examining related genocide claims, underlining the urgency of the situation.

UN Report Accuses Israel Of Genocide In Gaza By Targeting Children

A new report from the U.N. Independent Commission of Inquiry^[source] has declared that Israeli forces are deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, amounting to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the occupied West Bank.

Children seen from a destroyed house in Gaza

The commission’s findings are based on “reasonable grounds’’ that Israeli authorities have repeatedly shot at children’s vital organs with precision weapons such as quadcopter drones and snipers, and struck homes, schools and displacement camps packed with children. It also documents brutal assaults, including arrests, torture and sexual violence, carried out in West Bank detention facilities.

According to the Gaza health ministry—a source regarded as reliable by the U.N.—73,035 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since the war that began in 2023, with more than 21,280 being children. The report argues that even after the 2025 ceasefire, the pattern of devastation continued, constituting a deliberate strategy to destroy the future of Gazan Palestinians.

Israel’s response: The foreign ministry has “utterly rejected” the report, calling it a “libellous sham” and a propaganda instrument. It insists that security forces act in good faith, defend against Hamas, and protect their own citizens.

The commission’s chair, Indian jurist Srinivasan Muralidhar, warned that “the protection, care and survival of Palestinian children are inseparable from the Palestinian people’s right to self‑determination.” He urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for “targeting children, which attacks the capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and determine their future.”

International law also raises concerns about the blockade of humanitarian aid, leading to acute and chronic malnutrition among children in Gaza. The report recommends urgent investigations and sanctions to prevent further suffering.

Meanwhile, the International Court of Justice is hearing a case filed by South Africa accusing Israel of genocide. Progress is slow, but the U.N. report highlights the critical need for swift, verified action to prevent ongoing atrocities.

For further context, read the full un‑commission report and follow live updates from the crisis zone via PulseWire’s interactive map and on‑site citizen reporters.