There is evidence that Israeli armed forces have deliberately targeted, exposed, and killed Palestinian children, according to the three investigators who have been working under a mandate from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) since 2021.
The group accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza in September last year. They assess that this has continued even after the ceasefire that was signed in October last year, and present the new findings as further evidence of Israel's intentions.
They point to physical and psychological injuries, widespread trauma, orphanhood, hunger, recurrent displacement, and a prolonged absence of schooling and healthcare. The living conditions imposed on the population have caused avoidable child mortality, the commission's report states.
By targeting children, Israel is attacking the very ability of the Palestinian people to exist and control their future, said the group's chairman, Indian judge Srinivasan Muralidhar, according to AFP.
The investigators do not speak on behalf of the entire UN. Israel has consistently rejected their findings as slander and lies.
At least 265 children have been killed and hundreds more injured in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing ceasefire, the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF, said recently. Since the outbreak of the war in 2023, a total of more than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza.
