Israeli forces are continuing what amounts to genocide against Palestinians through the deliberate targeting of children in the Gaza Strip, according to a new report by an independent United Nations Commission of Inquiry.
The report, released on Tuesday, states that Israeli military operations have continued to inflict what it described as “unprecedented death, injury and trauma” on Palestinian children.
The commission had previously concluded in 2025 that Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
According to the findings, the alleged intentional targeting of children is a significant indication of what the commission views as Israel’s genocidal intent against the Palestinian people, including during the period following the Gaza ceasefire.
“Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, children continue to be killed and seriously injured, with continued disregard by Israel for the ceasefire and for the protection owed to Palestinian children under international law,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, chairman of the commission.
Israeli authorities rejected the accusations, maintaining their long-standing position that they have not committed genocide. Officials swiftly condemned the report after its publication.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the findings as “a propaganda piece as outrageous as its previous ones,” while Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, described it as a “political blood libel disguised as a UN document.”
“Instead of addressing Hamas’ crimes, the October 7 massacre, the hostages, and Hamas’ cynical use of children and civilians as human shields, the commission has once again chosen to place Israel in the dock,” Danon said.
The report argues that conditions imposed on Gaza since the ceasefire, including continued attacks and restrictions on humanitarian and medical assistance, have caused “multi-layered harm to Palestinian children’s survival, health and development.”
It also details what the commission calls a systematic campaign against hospitals, healthcare centres and reproductive facilities, warning of severe immediate and long-term effects on children’s physical and mental health.
Although a US-backed ceasefire agreement brokered in October brought an end to two years of war, the commission noted that “hostilities did not cease but rather were reduced.”
Data cited by the report indicates that more than 1,000 Palestinians, including over 250 children, have been killed in Israeli airstrikes since the ceasefire took effect.
Israel has repeatedly accused Hamas of violating the truce and refusing to surrender its weapons.
Meanwhile, much of Gaza’s population continues to live in temporary shelters as reconstruction efforts remain stalled due to restrictions on building materials and heavy machinery.
The report further claims that Israel has expanded its military presence across Gaza despite provisions in the peace plan that envisioned a gradual Israeli withdrawal and the deployment of an international security force.
Attention was also drawn to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, where the commission said violence against Palestinian children by Israeli settlers has risen sharply.
It concluded that the Israeli military has “repeatedly employed unreasonable, excessive and punitive force against children as a tool of control, deterrence and collective intimidation” in the West Bank.
The commission additionally highlighted what it described as widespread arbitrary arrests and detentions of Palestinian children in both Gaza and the West Bank, noting that the whereabouts of many detained children from Gaza remain unknown.
Welcoming the findings, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the report underscores “the international community’s failure to stop the violations committed by the occupying power and to hold accountable those responsible for these crimes against Palestinian children.”
The commission called on Israel to “immediately halt military operations in Gaza” and fulfil its “special obligations towards children under international law.”
It also urged member states to arrest Israeli officials wanted by the International Criminal Court, suspend arms transfers to Israel and impose sanctions on Israeli officials and settlers.
