ISRAEL has committed genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity across Palestine, a UN commission of inquiry has said.
Published on Tuesday, a new report from the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory concluded that the Israeli government had deliberately targeted children “to weaken demographic vitality and deny the Palestinian people's right to self-determination”.
It stated: “Based on the evidence reviewed, and consistent with its previous reports, the Commission finds on reasonable grounds that the Israeli authorities and the Israeli security forces have continued to commit the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Gaza Strip and war crimes in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.”
Elsewhere, the report said that Palestinian children from Gaza and the West Bank had been “arrested, tortured, and ill-treated in Israeli prisons and detention facilities”.
“Removing them from their families and communities and punishing them based on their age and their identity as Palestinians – or presuming they pose threats for future acts they have not committed – raise critical issues of proportionality, necessity and reasonableness under international law,” the report said.
The UN commission of inquiry further found that, between October 7, 2023, and October 7 2025, Israel killed more than 20,000 Gazan children and wounded 44,000 more. An estimated 58,554 children in Gaza also lost one or both parents over the same time period.
Israeli military actions also saw 97% of schools in Gaza damaged or destroyed, 95% of Gazan universities impacted, and 22 of the region’s 38 universities destroyed entirely.
Detailing recommendations, the commission called for UN member states to:
- Arrest Israeli officials against whom arrest warrants have been issued by the ICC [International Criminal Court] and extradite them into the custody of the court.
- Employ all means reasonably available to prevent the commission of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, and ensure full compliance with the Geneva Conventions and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
- Cease the transfer of arms and other equipment or items to Israel, or to third States where they could be used to violate international law.
- Conduct investigations under domestic or universal jurisdiction into Israeli individuals or organisations suspected of participating in unlawful acts of violence against Palestinian children.
- Prohibit two-way military-related trade with Israel.
- Impose targeted sanctions against Israeli officials and military personnel responsible for violations of international law, particularly those involving children, and against those involved in settler violence in the West Bank.
- Support political solutions and processes aimed at achieving lasting peace in Palestine, based on the right of Palestinians to self-determination and meaningful engagement with Palestinians, including children.
In September 2025, the UN commission – then led by former president of the Rwanda genocide international tribunal Navi Pillay – concluded that Israel had committed four of the five “genocidal acts” defined under the 1948 Genocide Convention.
Now, the UN commission of inquiry has three members: Srinivasan Muralidhar (from India), Florence Mumba (from Zambia), and Chris Sidoti (from Australia).
