‘Genocide Continues’: UN Inquiry Reveals Logic Behind Israel’s Killing of Gaza’s Children

A UN investigation concluded that Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children, finding evidence of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Key Takeaways
- A UN inquiry found reasonable grounds to conclude that Israel continued committing genocide in Gaza.
- At least 20,179 Palestinian children were killed between October 2023 and October 2025.
- The commission said children were deliberately targeted, helping establish genocidal intent.
- The report linked attacks on healthcare, starvation and displacement to preventable child deaths.
- The inquiry also documented settler violence and systematic abuse of Palestinian children in Israeli detention.
A United Nations investigation has concluded that Israeli occupation authorities and army deliberately targeted Palestinian children in Gaza, finding that the killings form part of an ongoing genocide and constitute some of the gravest violations documented since the war began in October 2023.
The findings were published Tuesday by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which examined violations committed against Palestinian children during the war and its aftermath.
According to the inquiry, the scale of child deaths, injuries, trauma and destruction points to a systematic campaign that has devastated an entire generation of Palestinians.
Genocidal Intent
The commission found that at least 20,179 Palestinian children were killed between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025, representing nearly 30 percent of all Palestinians killed during the war.
The report concluded that Israeli forces continued killing children even after a ceasefire took effect in October 2025 and said these actions formed a central element in establishing genocidal intent.
“The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar said.
The inquiry stated that Israeli authorities and security forces had “continued to commit the crime of genocide” in Gaza and that the targeting of children was aimed at destroying the Palestinian group in whole or in part.
According to the commission, the killing and maiming of children was “part of a strategy to destroy the biological continuity and future existence of the Palestinian group in Gaza.”
‘Erased Childhood’
The report paints a devastating picture of childhood in Gaza after nearly three years of war.
Investigators found that severe physical and psychological injuries, mass trauma, orphanhood, repeated displacement, disability, starvation and the collapse of education and healthcare systems had effectively “erased childhood” in Gaza.
“By targeting children, Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and to determine their future,” Muralidhar said.
The commission concluded that Israel’s actions have weakened the demographic vitality of Palestinian society, creating what it described as a severe orphan crisis while leaving thousands of children facing permanent disabilities.
According to the report, disability has become “a defining demographic reality” among Gaza’s children.
Intentional Attacks
One of the report’s most significant findings concerns Israel’s continued use of high-payload bombs and wide-area effect weapons in densely populated residential neighborhoods despite mounting evidence of mass child casualties.
The commission concluded that the continued use of such weapons under those circumstances indicated intent.
“This indicates that such attacks, which killed children in such high numbers, were intentional,” the report stated.
Investigators further concluded that Palestinian children were collectively targeted because Israeli forces viewed the civilian population as broadly associated with Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups.
The inquiry also listed Israeli military divisions, brigades and units that may bear responsibility for child deaths in specific incidents across Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Healthcare, Starvation and Newborn Deaths
Beyond direct military attacks, the commission found that conditions imposed on Gaza caused widespread preventable deaths among children.
According to the report, repeated displacement, starvation and restrictions on aid, food and medicine severely damaged children’s health and development.
The inquiry also found that attacks on healthcare facilities and reproductive care centers directly affected the survival of newborns.
Investigators documented increased miscarriages and reported that the collapse of public health programs had undermined “the conditions necessary for a healthy next generation.”
Nearly all children in Gaza were reported to require psychological support.
Violence in the West Bank
The commission’s findings extended beyond the genocide in Gaza.
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, investigators documented a sharp increase in settler violence against Palestinian children. They also reported evidence of torture, sexual violence and systematic abuse during mass arrests and detention operations.
According to the report, Palestinian children, particularly boys, were subjected to forced stripping, beatings and food deprivation inside Israeli detention facilities.
The commission concluded that such treatment amounted to crimes against humanity, including torture and other inhumane acts causing severe suffering and injury.
Call for Accountability
The inquiry comes months after the same commission concluded in a previous report that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza and that senior Israeli officials had incited such acts. Israel rejected those findings and similarly dismissed the latest report.
Nevertheless, investigators reiterated that there are reasonable grounds to conclude that genocidal acts continue to be committed and urged all states to ensure accountability for crimes committed against Palestinians.
The report arrives amid growing international scrutiny of Israel’s conduct in Gaza, where more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, according to Palestinian health authorities.
For the commission, however, one conclusion stood above all others: the destruction inflicted on Gaza’s children is not merely a consequence of war, but evidence of a deliberate policy aimed at undermining the future existence of the Palestinian people.



