The essence of childhood has been destroyed": Israel's deliberate targeting of Palestinian children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since 7 October 2023, published 23 June 2026, document reference
## Summary of Atrocities Against Palestinian Children Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed at least 20,179 Palestinian children and injured 44,143 more — making Gaza the world's most dangerous place for children. Infants have died in collapsed NICUs, children have been deliberately shot by snipers and quadcopters, and entire families wiped out by airstrikes. Children have been arbitrarily arrested, tortured, sexually abused, and held incommunicado in Israeli detention facilities. A 17-year-old boy died in prison from deliberate starvation. Schools, hospitals, and orphanages have been systematically destroyed, denying three full years of education to over 668,000 children. Israel's siege has produced famine, with 151 children dying from malnutrition by October 2025. Newborns die from hypothermia, lack of incubators, and congenital defects caused by maternal starvation. Over 21,000 children have been newly disabled. The Commission concludes these acts constitute **war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide** — representing a deliberate strategy to destroy the biological continuity of the Palestinian people by targeting their children.