Palestinian children targeted in genocide, war crimes in Gaza: UN inquiry

In PicturesSaveSharefacebookxwhatsapp-strokecopylinkA Palestinian man holds the body of his child next to others killed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, October 22, 2023. [Fatima Shbair/AP Photo]By Al Jazeera Staff and APPublished On 23 Jun 202623 Jun 2026A United Nations commission of inquiry has accused Israel of systematically targeting Palestinian children in the occupied Palestinian territory, saying Israeli actions amount to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza and war crimes in the occupied West Bank.In a report released on Tuesday, the commission said about 30 percent of those killed in Gaza since Israel’s war began in October 2023 were children, and that attacks on maternity and neonatal units, along with an aid blockade, have devastated children’s chances of survival.The commission says Israeli forces have destroyed orphanages and schools, and Palestinian children have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured and subjected to sexual abuse in detention. It warns that killings and serious injuries have continued even after the October 2025 “ceasefire”, in defiance of international law.UNICEF estimates 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 October “ceasefire” took effect.These images document the lives and losses of Palestinian children in Gaza and the West Bank as they struggle to survive bombardment, displacement and imprisonment – and to hold on to a future that is being systematically stripped away.Palestinian children wounded in Israeli attacks are brought to al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on October 11, 2023. [Ali Mahmoud/AP Photo]Palestinian children wounded in Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip are treated at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, November 21, 2023. [Marwan Saleh/AP Photo]Palestinian carry the bodies of their relatives including children who were killed in an Israeli air raid in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, May 21, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]Sara al-Nouri mourns over the body of her 13-year-old sister, Sama, who was among 10 people, including two women and five children, killed in an Israeli attack while they were waiting to receive nutritional supplements at a Project Hope-run medical clinic in Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, July 10, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]Displaced Palestinian children search for firewood and plastic in a landfill beside the makeshift tent camp where they are taking shelter, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, September 30, 2025. [Jehad Alshrafi/AP Photo]Palestinian children, sick and wounded, arrive at Jordan's King Hussein Bridge border crossing en route to Amman for medical treatment, April 27, 2026. [Raad Adayleh/AP Photo]Palestinian children struggle to get donated food at a community kitchen in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, May 3, 2025. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]Children walk through the rubble of the apartment of the Palestinian Safadi family in Gaza City, June 20, 2026, following an overnight Israeli air strike. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]Displaced Palestinian children haul water containers at the Yarmouk football stadium that was damaged during Israel's war on Gaza, in Gaza City, June 20, 2026. [Abdel Kareem Hana/AP Photo]