Israel committed massacres in Gaza, deliberately targeted Palestinian children: UN report
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A new report by United Nations Human Rights Council he says Israel is “deliberately” targeting Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Published on Tuesday, the report is based on the work of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, which happened last year. Meanwhile, the Commission he concluded that Israel had killed people against the Palestinians in Gaza.
Tuesday’s COI report also found that “the large scale and systematic nature of Israeli military operations has continued,” causing unprecedented deaths, injuries and torture of Palestinian children. Israel denies the allegations and says the Commission’s report is propaganda aimed at discrediting the country.
The war began after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 left 1,200 people dead and 200 hostages in Gaza, according to Israeli figures. Israel’s attack on Gaza has left more than 73,000 people dead, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Since the ceasefire began in October 2025, the Ministry of Health in Gaza has noted that more than a thousand people have died in Gaza due to ongoing strikes and fighting along the border. Of those, it says 265 children.
The report of the United Nations Commission of Inquiry states that even after the end of October 2025, Israel continues to target children in Gaza. The commission says it is part of a ‘deliberate strategy to destroy the future of Palestinians in Gaza.’ Israel denies the allegations and says the commission of inquiry aims to ‘discredit’ Israel rather than seek the truth.
Many Palestinians in line told CBC News they have little hope that the fighting will stop and allow them to return to their normal lives one day. CBC News freelance videographer Mohamed El Saife spoke to families with children who have been victims of drone strikes or caught up in the conflict.
‘Every day we are attacked’
On May 21, 13-year-old Jude Muhammad Dweik was playing soccer with his friends in Beit Lahia in northern Gaza when his family said a quadcopter dropped a bomb on the group. Jude was killed and two of his friends were wounded.
As his grandson’s body was taken to be buried and finally buried, Talal Dweik told El Saife that he did not understand how such an attack could happen.
“My grandson was martyred and two others who were with him were injured,” he said. “Every day we are attacked.”
Such bombings and their brutal consequences have become commonplace in Gaza throughout the war. When the dust settles, men bring plastic bags to carry the remains of very young children so that they are not stuffed into the hospital’s cold storage for identification.
The report finds Israel deliberately targeting children
According to the COI, one of the key factors in establishing Israel’s genocidal intent was the “deliberate targeting of children.”
Srinivasan Muralidhar, the chairman of the Commission, said in the report that the evidence showed that Israeli security forces had deliberately targeted and killed Palestinian children. He said that by doing so, “Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people to exist and determine their future.”
Even after the October 2025 ceasefire, he said “children continue to be killed and seriously injured, and Israel’s continued neglect to stop shooting and protect Palestinian children under international law.”
Another drone strike in northern Gaza, this one on May 6 in Gaza City, killed Mohammed Bashir Kashko, 15. His family says there was no warning about this strike, which they say was aimed at the tents of displaced people.
The situation at Nasser hospital was chaotic as the Kashko family tried to identify their victims – Mohammed’s body was lying on a plastic mat as his uncle stood nearby crying.
“All the young people here have been killed,” said Yahya Kashko. “We cannot tolerate martyrdom every day.”
CBC News contacted the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for comment in an effort to confirm both attacks, but did not receive a response.
Israel answered
In its report, the COI called on Israel to stop committing violations and crimes against Palestinian children.
It also said it has identified military units within the IDF that are responsible for killing and maiming Palestinian children and makes recommendations to Israel and all Member States of the UN Human Rights Council to ensure accountability for those crimes.
CBC News contacted the IDF for comment and was directed to a social media statement Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairswhich said it “absolutely rejects” the allegations made by the UN report. The post also said the report was propaganda aimed at “slandering Israel instead of seeking the truth.”
It wrote: “The COI is a flawed organization whose purpose is to highlight and defame Israel instead of seeking the truth.”
In its report, the COI wrote that the international community must respect its obligations under international law and call for an end to hostilities.
