Israel targeted Gaza children resulting in genocide, UN inquiry says

What We Know

A U.N. commission of inquiry has issued a report (A/HRC/62/CRP.2) saying Israel deliberately targeted Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7 October 2023 and that those acts amount to genocide. The report uses stark language — including the phrase “The essence of childhood has been destroyed” — and was reported broadly by international outlets, which framed the findings as alleging deliberate killing and shooting of children in Gaza and the occupied territories.

News organisations quoting the inquiry highlighted the scale of child casualties: one report noted that about 30% of those killed were children. Outlets including Reuters, the BBC, Al Jazeera, ABC, and The Independent carried the commission’s core finding that Israel’s conduct toward children in the conflict meets the threshold of genocide or is part of genocidal action, and described specific allegations that children were deliberately targeted and killed during military operations in Gaza and other occupied areas.