UN probe says Israel's deliberate targeting of children is part of Gaza genocide

United Nations investigators charged on Tuesday that Israel's deliberate targeting of children in Gaza is a key factor in an ongoing genocide.

The independent commission issued a new report stating that Israeli security forces systematically kill and injure Palestinian youth. Investigators believe this systematic violence ultimately aims to destroy the larger Palestinian group.

Does the UN probe confirm Israel's deliberate targeting of children?

The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry reported that Israeli security forces have deliberately targeted and killed Palestinian children.

Investigators stated that this systematic violence is a central factor in establishing genocidal intent against the population. They concluded Israeli authorities continue to commit the crime of genocide by erasing childhoods throughout the territory.

The three-member investigative team first determined last September that Israel had committed genocide during the Gaza war, a finding the government flatly rejected.

In Tuesday's follow-up report, investigators said intense Israeli military operations have continued at a systematic scale. These operations have resulted in unprecedented death, injury, and trauma among Palestinian youth.

Israel fiercely criticized the commission and slammed the new report as a defamatory and libellous sham. The Israeli government accused investigators of ignoring the brutal tactics of Hamas, which ruthlessly attacks Israeli youth. Officials say Hamas continues to use Palestinian children as human shields during the ongoing military conflict.

How has the Gaza conflict affected Palestinian children?

The UN Human Rights Council established the commission in 2021 to examine crimes affecting Palestinians across the region.

The latest report details how living conditions imposed by Israel in Gaza cause preventable mortality among the youth population.

The team stated these deliberate actions result in crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank.

Investigators found that severe physical and mental injuries, mass trauma, orphanhood, and repeated displacements have effectively erased childhood in the territory.

Starvation and the total collapse of education and healthcare systems will continue to affect the surviving youth throughout their lives. Indian judge Srinivasan Muralidhar, who chairs the inquiry, said attacking children directly threatens the capacity of the Palestinian people to exist.

Muralidhar stated Israeli soldiers have publicly shared highly incriminating evidence documenting their own military actions during the conflict.

The UN report follows a recent UNICEF statement confirming that at least 265 children died in Gaza since a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect. The Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023 killed 1,221 people, based on an official tally of Israeli figures.

How many children have died during the Gaza war?

The UN inquiry reported that hostilities in Gaza killed at least 20,179 children and injured 44,143 others during the first two years of the war.

Investigators described the killing and maiming of Palestinian youth as a deliberate strategy to destroy the biological continuity and future existence of the population.

The Hamas-run health ministry states the extensive Israeli retaliatory response has killed more than 72,800 people overall.

The UN report concluded that Israel caused a severe orphan crisis and left wounded youngsters facing a lifetime of disability. A strict military siege directly undermined reproductive and newborn health across the entire Palestinian territory.

The subsequent collapse of public health programs eroded the basic conditions necessary to raise a healthy next generation.

The document lists specific Israeli divisions, brigades, and units potentially responsible for killing youth in Gaza and the West Bank.

Commissioner Chris Sidoti told a press conference that the investigative team knows the exact identities of these specific military units. Sidoti stated that the Israeli authorities have violated every international legal norm regarding the treatment of Palestinian children.

Addressing Israeli citizens, Sidoti questioned the character of political leaders who encourage and permit this type of destructive military conduct.

The UN commission also documented a sharp increase in violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinian youth in the occupied West Bank.

The investigators strongly urged all UN member states to ensure strict accountability for the alleged crimes committed during the ongoing conflict.