IV. Physical harm against Palestinian children by Israel
“You will die, your children will die, your grandchildren will die – there won’t be a Palestinian state, there won’t be - Hanoch Milwidsky, Member of the Knesset (Likud) on 21 February 2024.
A. Child casualties due to Israel’s use of explosive weapons in populated areas
26.
Until 7 October 2023, roughly half of the population of the Gaza Strip was under the age of 18. These children had already lived their entire lives under the Israeli blockade and occupation, experiencing multiple rounds of hostilities and trauma. Between 7 October 2023 and 7 October 2025, at least 20,179 children were killed and 44,143 children were injured as a direct result of the hostilities in Gaza, constituting 30 percent of those killed and 26 percent of those injured during this period. The Commission notes the increase in the proportion of children killed in comparison to previous escalations of hostilities wherein children made up approximately 24 percent of the conflict-related fatalities in the escalations of hostilities of 2008-2009 and 2014.
28.
Additionally, unknown numbers of children are buried in unmarked graves without their deaths being recorded or are simply missing. Over the two-year period, child casualties in Gaza have varied significantly across different phases of the hostilities, reflecting shifts in the intensity, geographic spread, and the Israeli military tactics and operations – timeline of key events is noted in Annex I at the end of this report.
29.
The Commission has previously noted that the increase in child casualties absolutely and proportionally in comparison with previous escalations of hostilities is due to Israeli security forces’ use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects (see paras. 30- 33) and an expansion of its targeting criteria, without taking adequate precautions, resulting in high child casualties among family members, neighbours and displaced communities at large.
30.
On 25 December 2023, Israeli security forces issued a statement about its targeting approach in Gaza: “Whereas in past operations or wars, Israel has been more selective or “accurate” with regards to the exact types of Hamas targets struck, given that Israel’s overall objective was limited to diminishing Hamas’s capabilities, Israel is now focused on dismantling Hamas’s capabilities altogether, i.e. causing “maximum damage” to Hamas’ military capabilities in their entirety.” The Commission found that statements by the Israeli security forces, in conjunction with its practice on the ground, indicate a de facto blanket permission to target civilian locations widely in Gaza.