Overview
- The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry published a report on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, concluding that Israeli authorities and security forces deliberately targeted Palestinian children and that this targeting was a key element in finding genocidal intent in Gaza.
- The commission reported that between October 7, 2023 and October 7, 2025 at least 20,179 children were killed in Gaza and that UNICEF estimates more than 50,000 children have been killed or wounded since the war began.
- Investigators documented repeated use of high-payload, wide-area munitions in densely populated areas, attacks on neonatal and maternity units, and blockades restricting aid, which the report says caused preventable deaths, rising miscarriages and long-term disability among children.
- The inquiry also recorded a sharp rise in settler violence and systematic mistreatment of Palestinian children in the West Bank, including documented cases of torture and sexual and gender-based abuse during arrests and detention.
- Israel rejected the findings as defamatory and accused the commission of ignoring Hamas’s actions, and the report is likely to increase diplomatic pressure and calls for international criminal investigations while deepening global divisions in media and government responses.