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UN blacklist again includes Israel over grave abuses against children in conflict
For the second consecutive year, the United Nations has placed Israel on its blacklist of states responsible for serious violations against children during armed conflicts, amid its prolonged military operations in Gaza, which have stretched over nearly 20 months.
In a newly released report, the UN highlighted that 2024 witnessed a dramatic rise in violence against children in conflict zones worldwide, with the highest concentration of abuses reported in the Gaza Strip and the occupied West Bank. The violations were primarily attributed to the Israeli military.
The annual Children in Armed Conflict report noted a global 25 percent increase in grave violations involving individuals under the age of 18 compared to the previous year. The UN verified 41,370 such incidents, including killings, maimings, sexual violence, and attacks on educational and medical institutions.
In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the report verified 8,554 grave violations affecting 2,959 children 2,944 of them Palestinian and 15 Israeli. These included the confirmed deaths of 1,259 Palestinian children and the wounding of 941 others in Gaza following the intense military campaign launched by Israel after the October 7, 2023 attack carried out by Hamas in southern Israel.
Although the official death toll from Gaza’s Ministry of Health is significantly higher, the UN stated it is still in the process of verifying the deaths of an additional 4,470 children during 2024 in the blockaded enclave.
In the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the UN confirmed the deaths of 97 Palestinian children, as part of a broader total of 3,688 verified violations.
The report also documented Israeli military actions in Lebanon, where more than 500 children were either killed or injured over the past year.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern over the severity of violations against children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, emphasizing the destructive impact of explosive weapons used in densely populated areas.
He renewed his call for Israel to comply with international legal standards, which mandate the protection of children, safeguarding of schools and hospitals, and adherence to the principles of distinguishing combatants from civilians and avoiding disproportionate harm to the innocent.
No immediate statement was issued by Israel’s mission to the United Nations.
Additionally, the blacklist includes the Qassam Brigades, the armed faction of Hamas, and the al-Quds Brigades, affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad, marking their second inclusion on the list.
Beyond the Palestinian territories, the UN report identified the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Nigeria, and Haiti as the countries with the highest numbers of grave violations against children in 2024.
The report also highlighted a dramatic surge in violations in Lebanon (545 percent increase), followed by Mozambique (525 percent), Haiti (490 percent), Ethiopia (235 percent), and Ukraine (105 percent).