UN inquiry accuses Israel of targeting Palestinian children in Gaza
UN commission says evidence suggests Israeli forces are targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, citing possible genocidal intent and long-term harm to health and education.
Summary of the report and timing
On Tuesday, June 23, 2026, an international commission of inquiry mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council released a report saying Israeli forces have targeted Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip. The commission’s chair, Srinivasan Muralidhar, said the deliberate targeting of children undermines the Palestinian people’s ability to exist and shape their future. The report follows an earlier finding in September 2025 in which the commission concluded that genocide is occurring and continues to occur in Gaza.
Findings focused on children and intent
The new report examines in detail the impact on children and frames deliberate child-targeting as a central element in assessing genocidal intent. Investigators reported what they describe as evidence that Palestinian children were deliberately targeted and killed by security forces. The commission argues that such actions, combined with damage to health and education systems, support reasonable grounds to conclude genocidal conduct.
Legal assessment: genocide and the 1948 Convention
The commission says its findings map onto four of the five acts listed in the 1948 Genocide Convention, including killings and “causing serious mental or physical harm.” In September 2025 the panel had already identified these acts by Israeli authorities and security forces, and the new children-focused report links specific attacks and policies to the elements of intent required under international law. The commission also cites measures it says impede births and the destruction of conditions necessary for group survival.
Allegations about health, maternity and famine
Among the report’s most stark allegations are attacks on neonatal and maternity services and the wider impact of the blockade on child nutrition and health. The commission says damage to those facilities has been associated with increased miscarriages and genital malformations, and it attributes some child deaths to famine conditions caused by the closure. Investigators also highlight the long-term effect of destroyed schools and child protection structures on development and the social fabric.
Israeli response and Hamas accusations
Israel dismissed the report as defamatory and accused the commission of ignoring the “brutal tactics” of Hamas, including the group’s attacks on Israeli children and alleged use of Palestinian children as human shields. Israeli officials have repeatedly rejected the genocide finding and stressed the security context that followed the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas. The commission’s report addresses those security claims while maintaining that evidence of deliberate attacks on children and other acts meet the threshold for further legal scrutiny.
Access limits and verification challenges
The commission and independent news agencies note that restrictions on media and limited access to Gaza complicate efforts to verify accounts on the ground. The report says investigators faced obstacles that constrained independent confirmation of casualty figures and incident-by-incident documentation. That limitation, the commission adds, makes it harder to provide full public accounting but does not, in their view, negate the pattern of evidence they present.
Ceasefire context and continuing violence
The report records that even after a ceasefire took effect in October 2025, children continued to be killed and seriously injured, according to the commission’s investigators. Both Israel and Hamas have accused each other of violating the truce almost daily, and Gaza has remained subject to recurrent violence and severe humanitarian strain. The commission warns that physical cessation of hostilities alone will not reverse the lasting damage to child health, education and psychosocial wellbeing.
The commission urged accountability measures and international attention to protect children and preserve the foundations of Palestinian society, citing the cumulative effects of infrastructure destruction and restrictions on essential services.
The publication of the children-focused report adds to a body of inquiries and statements, including remarks from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, who has previously said he sees growing evidence of genocidal acts in Gaza. The commission called for concrete steps to halt attacks on children, restore humanitarian access, and ensure independent investigations into alleged crimes.
The international response is likely to shape diplomatic and legal debates in the months ahead, with governments, human rights bodies and courts now confronting the report’s allegations alongside competing narratives about security, civilian protection and the conduct of non-state armed groups.
Long-term recovery for children in Gaza, the commission stresses, will require sustained commitments to health services, education, and rebuilding protective systems, as physical infrastructure repair alone cannot undo the developmental and psychological harms documented in the report.
