UN Report Accuses Israel of Deliberately Targeting Palestinian Children in Gaza
The UN Human Rights Council's Independent International Commission of Inquiry released a 94-page report accusing Israel of deliberately targeting Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including Gaza and East Jerusalem, since the Gaza war began on 7 October 2023. The report says at least 20,179 children were killed and 44,143 injured between October 2023 and October 2025, with children making up about 30% of deaths and 26% of injuries. More than 5,000 children under five were killed, including over 1,000 infants under one year and about 420 newborns. Save the Children estimates that roughly 5,160 children remain buried under rubble or lie in unmarked graves.
Specific cases cited include an airstrike on 23 May 2025 in Khan Younis that killed nine of ten children and their doctor parents in a residential building; the January 2024 killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab and her family after Israeli forces allegedly struck their vehicle and blocked rescue attempts; a 15-year-old boy shot while carrying a white flag during an evacuation in Khan Younis; and a 10-day-old infant shot while being breastfed in a tent at Nuseirat camp in April 2024, surviving with brain injury and seizures.
Beyond direct attacks, the commission found that Israeli military operations destroyed health facilities, schools and orphanages, leaving over 1,000 children with amputations, spinal damage, blindness or hearing loss in the first three months of the war. Mass displacement, infrastructure collapse and shortages of food, water and medicine have caused preventable deaths and widespread psychological trauma.
The commission called for accountability, reparations, an end to attacks on children and stronger international action to protect children caught in conflict.
What does this mean for Nigerians? It underscores the global stakes of protecting children in war zones and may influence Nigeria’s stance in UN debates on child protection and humanitarian aid. How should Nigeria’s foreign policy respond to such allegations to safeguard children’s rights in conflict areas worldwide?