UN commission report accuses Israel of targeting Palestinian children

On June 23, 2026, an independent international commission of inquiry mandated by the UN published a report alleging that Israeli authorities and security forces are intentionally targeting Palestinian children. The commission chair, Srinivasan Muralidhar, stated that these actions threaten the Palestinian people's capacity to exist and determine their future. The report covers violations occurring since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, noting that approximately 30 percent of those killed in the conflict are children. The findings classify these actions as genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Gaza, along with war crimes in the occupied West Bank. A previous report by the same committee in September 2025 had also alleged genocide, implicating high-ranking officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In response, Israel rejected the findings, arguing the report ignores the continuous terrorist threat that forces the military to take defensive measures. The Israeli government has previously dismissed such accusations as scandalous.