UN commission: Israeli army fires to kill children in Gaza
Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
- An UN commission concluded that the Israeli army intentionally fires lethal shots at children in Gaza, targeting vital areas.
- The commission's report accuses Israel of attacking children to weaken demographic vitality and deny Palestinians self-determination, citing over 20,000 child deaths since October 2023.
- The report calls for accountability, urging UN member states to use universal jurisdiction and arrest warrants against Israeli officials.
The Israeli army intentionally fires lethal shots at children in Gaza, targeting vital areas, according to a United Nations commission. Srinivasan Muralidhar, president of the UN investigative commission for Palestine, presented a new report detailing abuses against children in the Gaza Strip.
"Children are being killed mainly in two ways: through airstrikes with high-explosive, wide-impact ordnance, or with the use of helicopters, drones, and snipers who specifically target the head and upper body to kill them," Muralidhar stated at a press conference. He presented the findings alongside fellow commission members Florence Mumba and Chris Sidoti.
Children are being killed mainly in two ways: through airstrikes with high-explosive, wide-impact ordnance, or with the use of helicopters, drones, and snipers who specifically target the head and upper body to kill them.
The report, which marks the second time the commission has accused Israel of genocide, focuses on attacks against children. "The commission's conclusions are that Israel attacks children to weaken demographic vitality and deny the Palestinian people their right to self-determination," Muralidhar explained. He noted that since October 2023, over 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza, with 44,000 injured and over 58,000 orphaned. Additionally, 97% of schools in Gaza have been destroyed, and at least 151 children died from malnutrition as of October 2025.
The commission's conclusions are that Israel attacks children to weaken demographic vitality and deny the Palestinian people their right to self-determination.
The commission's legal conclusions assert that Israeli authorities and security forces have deliberately attacked and killed Palestinian children. Sidoti described the report as the most difficult he has worked on in 17 years with the expert group. The commission urged UN member states to exercise universal jurisdiction in their national courts and to detain and arrest any Israeli officials for whom the International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants, facilitating their extradition to the ICC.
The commission also reiterated calls for a halt to arms transfers to Israel and for all reasonably available means to be used to prevent genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in the region.
I want to address the Israeli people directly and ask what kind of people your soldiers are to allow a 14-year-old child to bleed to death for 45 minutes.
Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.