UN Commission Report Details Child Casualty Figures and Specific Gaza Incidents

" The commission described operations involving drones and snipers targeting children in vital organs and the use of large-yield bombs. It reported that roughly 30 percent of Palestinians killed in Gaza between October 2023 and October 2025 were children.

The commission cited the January 2024 incident in Gaza City in which a five-year-old girl and six relatives were killed, with bodies recovered 12 days later. It stated that Israeli forces disputed being near the scene and that rescue attempts faced obstruction.

In a separate case in Khan Younis, the commission described a sniper shooting a 15-year-old boy three times after he waved a white cloth, with the final two shots characterized as likely intended to ensure death. The report also addressed Israeli military operations, arrests, checkpoints, and settler violence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

The Israeli government issued an 18-page response describing the report as factually unsubstantiated and lacking legal authority. The response stated that the commission had not accounted for documented Israeli measures to reduce civilian harm and facilitate humanitarian aid.

It further stated that the commission gave only passing reference to Israeli children killed or taken hostage in the October 7, 2023 attacks, which the response said killed 1,200 people and took 250 hostages. The response also stated that the commission overlooked Hamas's use of children as fighters, messengers, and human shields.

The commission report did not include detailed evidence or documentation for the claim of collective targeting based on association with armed groups. The Israeli response did not provide specific figures on measures taken to reduce civilian harm.