SEATTLE, Washington — The Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalated on October 7, 2023, when Hamas led an attack on Israel that triggered an Israeli military campaign in Gaza killing more than 70,000 Palestinians, with more than 20,000 of the civilians being children. A report that the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) released documents the violations against Palestinian children in Gaza between October 7, 2023, and March 31, 2026.
The data includes children who were killed after the ceasefire and hostage release agreement for Gaza that officially went into effect on October 10, 2025. The U.N. Human Rights Council report describes the deliberate targeting and killing of Palestinian children, highlighting the repeated pattern of single gunshot wounds to the head and chest of children treated in Gaza’s hospitals.
Multiple doctors across 17 different hospitals in Gaza reported that children were admitted with only one precise gunshot wound to the head or chest. This pattern of gunshot wounds demonstrates the deliberate targeting of Palestinian children by the Israeli military, revealing the dehumanization of Palestinian childhood.
The Pattern of Gunshot Wounds
The Commission’s report identifies a coherent pattern in where gunshot wounds appear on Palestinian children’s bodies. Among a cohort of 168 children who suffered from a gunshot wound between November 9, 2023, and July 16, 2025, at least 73 were shot in the head and 22 in the chest, with the rest wounded elsewhere on the body. The report states that at least 88 of those children died by gunshot wounds. Meanwhile, Israeli quadcopters shot 70 out of the 168 and Israeli snipers shot 20.
The Commission displays evidence from doctors who provided photographs, videos, CT scans, and X-rays from a hospital in Gaza for seventeen children who had been shot. Forensic pathologists who were working on the case concluded that 12 of those children had wounds consistent with a single gunshot.
A doctor who served on a medical mission in Gaza told the Commission that, based on his analysis, the pattern of injuries to specific body parts led him to believe that “the Israeli soldiers have been deliberately shooting teenage boys in a game of target practice – a different body part being targeted on different days … There is a very clear pattern that suggests this is a deliberate aiming of different body parts [of children].”
Evidence of Deliberate Targeting
The deliberate targeting of children by the Israeli security forces in the Gaza Strip has been showcased by evidence from the U.N. Human Rights Council report. The Commission explicitly highlights the incident that occurred on January 24, 2024, where a family was preparing to evacuate their home after receiving an order by the Israeli security forces. The report states that the father noticed quadcopters hovering over the area where their apartment building was, and the presence of the Israeli military about 100 meters from their home.
His 15-year-old son exited their home with a white cloth in his hand, a symbol meant to show he meant no harm, but was instead shot in the foot. When he attempted to stand, he was shot in the back and then in the side of his neck. The boy’s 20-year-old brother rushed out to him and was shot on the left side of his chest. The father tried to repeatedly pull his son’s bodies away, but every time he advanced, the soldiers fired in his direction, forcing him to leave with the rest of the family.
The Commission assesses that the 15-year-old boy was shot by a sniper firing from about 200 meters away, a distance from which a shooter would be able to see that the target was a child and that he carried a white flag.
The Killings Continue Post Ceasefire
The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has reduced but not stopped the killings. The U.N. Human Rights Council report states that more than 100 children have been killed since the ceasefire began in early October 2025. The report focuses on the death of a 16-year-old boy from the Jabalia camp who was “shot and killed by Israeli soldiers after which an Israeli tank ran over him, mutilating his body.” The Commission notes that they are not aware of any formal investigation being initiated by the Israeli security forces on the matter of innocent children being killed.
More noticeably, the continuation of the Israeli security forces describing children who have been killed as “suspects,” has deflected their responsibility to the Palestinian children, and instead portrayed them as “terrorists.” This portrayal of children as “terrorists” is also seen in the “yellow line” – a military demarcation line that has divided the Gaza Strip in two since the ceasefire – as the line is not clearly defined and communicated, causing many children to be shot in this area.
The Commission has labeled this area as “particularly problematic since it is essentially enforced without transparent warning systems or safe passage channels. ” By targeting civilians and children along the “yellow line,” the Israeli military has shown its low value for Palestinian lives. The Commission asserts that this reflects a policy failure, undermining the ceasefire and allowing for the continuation of violence, and provides an explanation as to why children are still being killed post-ceasefire.
The Dehumanization of Palestinian Childhood
The Commission also emphasizes the dehumanization of Palestinian childhood, noting how the Israeli security forces film themselves mocking, weaponizing and desecrating symbols of childhood in Gaza. One particular film includes a member of the Israeli security forces in a child’s bedroom, showing a doll with tape around its eyes and a teddy bear hanging by its neck to the ceiling fan, before turning the camera around and showing the surrounding destroyed neighborhood.
In two separate images, it shows how “Israeli soldiers filmed children’s stuffed animal toys, tied in front of their military vehicles […] In another photo, a teddy bear is seen hung by its neck in the middle of the barrel of an Israeli tank.” The Commission labels these acts as means to mock Palestinians, including children, “with the underlying aim of dehumanizing, degrading and subjugating Palestinians collectively.”
The mocking and degradation of Palestinians by exploiting and destroying items known to be essential for children’s welfare and development demonstrates the helplessness of children, as they symbolize Palestine’s future, cultural continuity and vulnerability. This behavior from the Israeli security forces is a clear representation of their lack of accountability towards Palestinians, which reinforces their acts of dominance and violence against Palestinian children.
The Hind Rajab Act
On January 29, 2024, 5-year-old Hind Rajab, her family of seven and two paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society were attacked and killed by Israeli security forces. In an attempt to escape their home, Hind Rajab and her family were met with Israeli military forces opening fire on their car, killing the Rajab family and injuring Hind and her cousin, 15-year-old Layan. Layan told the Palestine Red Crescent Society over the phone that there was a tank next to the car. The operator recalled hearing the sound of gunshots and Layan screaming. The Commission believes that at this point she was killed. After being trapped in the car for hours alone, begging Palestinian medics for help over the phone, Hind also died.
The Hind Rajab Foundation reports that, during an investigation into the incident, a total of 335 bullets were fired at the car and that the tank operators had a clear view of the two children in the vehicle. The investigation revealed that the Israeli military tank was placed somewhere 13 to 23 meters away from the car in which the Hind’s family was trapped. Additionally, forensic investigators estimate that in six seconds, about 64 gunshots were fired on Layan.
The Hind Rajab Act not only requires the U.S. government to investigate and hold accountable those responsible for killing Hind Rajab and her family, but also stands as a reminder of the terrible tragedies happening in Palestine to this day. After two years of denying accountability and investigation, the Israeli military, for the first time, confirmed that it opened fire on the car carrying Hind Rajab and her family and released a statement about its internal investigation of the killings. However, the Hind Rajab Foundation stated that they did not have confidence in the investigation, labeling Israel’s internal investigations as “fundamentally flawed and cannot be regarded as credible mechanisms of accountability.”
Looking Forward
Airstrikes are still continuing to this day in Israel, affecting the lives of millions of Palestinians. One of the airstrike victims was a 4-year-old boy in a Bureji refugee camp in Gaza. These acts amount to war crimes of willful killing, crimes against humanity and form part of the Commission’s genocide findings. This continued abuse of Palestinian children shows the blatant disregard of the ceasefire agreement by the Israeli military, raising a question about the strength and validity of the policy. In order to protect the children in Palestine, international action and stronger enforcement for accountability from Israel must take place.
– Sophia Moeckel
Photo: Unsplash