Israel's 'deliberate targeting' of children part of ongoing Gaza 'genocide': UN probe

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A United Nations-mandated commission of inquiry has released a report accusing Israeli authorities and security forces of deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, saying the actions amount to genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The report, released on Tuesday, also alleges war crimes in the occupied West Bank.

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel — established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2021 — said it had found evidence that "Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli security forces". The commission said this was a key factor in establishing "the genocidal intent of the Israeli authorities and security forces to destroy the larger Palestinian group in Gaza".

The three-member panel, which does not speak for the UN itself, said there were "reasonable grounds" to conclude that Israel's authorities and security forces "have continued to commit the crime of genocide" in Gaza. Their findings were reported by Al Jazeera, BBC, Dawn, France 24, The Guardian, South China Morning Post, and The Hindu.

Coverage comparison

The report's release was covered across international media, with most outlets leading on the same central allegation: that Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children. Al Jazeera and Dawn framed the story with particular emphasis on the deliberate nature of the targeting, using active voice and direct quotes from UN officials. The BBC and France 24 adopted a more neutral tone, using indirect quotes. The Guardian, South China Morning Post, and The Hindu also reported the allegations, with The Guardian emphasizing the genocide finding and its broader context.

Several outlets highlighted that the commission had previously, in September, concluded Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a finding Israel rejected. The new report was described as a follow-up, examining violations against children since the start of the war on October 7, 2023.

Key claims

The commission's report found that "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". This claim was carried by all the outlets whose coverage was reviewed.

According to the report, between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025, at least 20,179 children were killed and 44,143 injured in Gaza, representing around 30% of the overall death toll. This figure was reported by Dawn, The Hindu, and in another BBC report, which cited the Gaza health ministry's broader figures of over 73,000 killed, including more than 21,280 children.

The commission examined how living conditions imposed by Israel in Gaza were "resulting in preventable mortality of children". It cited severe physical and mental injuries, mass trauma, orphanhood, separation, disability, repeated displacements, starvation, and the collapse of education and healthcare. Dawn reported that the commission said these conditions had "erased childhood" in Gaza. Commission Chair Srinivasan Muralidhar, an Indian judge, was quoted as saying that "by targeting children, Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and to determine their future".

In an interview with France 24, Muralidhar said the commission had collected testimonies from doctors who said children were admitted with "gunshot wounds specifically targeted at the head and the neck to cause maximum damage".

The report also warned that killings and serious injuries have continued even after the October 2025 ceasefire, in defiance of international law. UNICEF estimates that more than 50,000 children have been killed or wounded since the war began, with at least one Palestinian child killed on average every day in the eight months since the ceasefire took effect, as reported by Al Jazeera and Dawn.

Perspectives

UN Commission of Inquiry

The commission, chaired by Srinivasan Muralidhar, maintains that its evidence shows "Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces", and that this constitutes genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The commission said the intense scale and systematic nature of Israeli military operations had continued, resulting in "unprecedented" death, injury, and trauma of Palestinian children.

Israel

Israel has "utterly rejected" the commission's report. The Israeli foreign ministry called it a "libellous sham" and "a propaganda piece as outrageous as its previous ones", as reported by the BBC. Israel's mission in Geneva similarly dismissed what it called the commission's "second defamatory advocacy report", stating that "every child deserves protection" and asserting that the report ignored "the brutal tactics of Hamas". Israel has long been critical of the commission, which it accuses of bias.