A new United Nations report reveals that Israel was responsible for the largest number of verified grave violations against children in the occupied Palestinian territories in 2025, coinciding with a significant global surge in abuses within conflict zones.
The report, titled “Children and Armed Conflict 2025” and submitted by Secretary-General António Guterres, notes a 34 percent increase in grave violations compared to the previous year.
The 47-page document asserts that parties involved in armed conflicts committed a record number of atrocities, representing the highest impact on children since the inception of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate.
Globally, the UN documented 38,558 grave violations throughout 2025. These abuses encompass killing and maiming, the recruitment and exploitation of children, abduction, rape and other sexual violence, attacks on healthcare and educational facilities, and the obstruction of humanitarian aid.
Of the total, the UN verified 12,445 violations linked to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories; 12,436 of these occurred within the occupied Palestinian territories, while nine were recorded in Israel.
The data breaks down these figures as 6,984 violations in the Gaza Strip and 5,452 in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The findings attribute 9,465 grave violations to Israeli forces, with an additional 326 violations attributed to Israeli settlers engaged in land seizures.
The report states that Israeli forces detained 981 Palestinian children in 2025—comprising 973 boys and eight girls. Of those detained, 180 were held without charge or trial, and 66 reported experiencing physical violence or other forms of ill-treatment.
Furthermore, the UN recorded the death of one Palestinian child while in detention and verified three separate instances where Israeli forces utilized children as human shields in both the West Bank and Gaza.
The report concludes that 2,223 children were injured in the Gaza Strip and 2,921 others were injured in the West Bank and East Jerusalem by the actions of Israeli forces and settlers.
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