Israel on UN blacklist again for grave violations against children
The United Nations found countries with the highest levels of violations against children in 2024 were Israel, Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti.
The New Arab Staff 20 June, 2025
Israel killed, injured, and detained hundreds of Palestinians in 2024 [Getty]
Israel has been been placed on a United Nations blacklist of states committing grave violations against children for a second consecutive year, as its war on Gaza rages on.
Alongside Congo, Somalia, Nigeria and Haiti, Israel was listed under the countries with the highest levels of violations in 2024.
In its annual report on children in armed conflict, the UN said that abuses against children have reached "unprecedented levels", with the highest recorded violations since reporting began almost 30 years ago. More than 41,370 incidents were verified in 2024 – 25 percent higher than 2023.
The report said that there were 8,554 grave violations against 2,959 children in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The report also named Israel as being responsible for the highest numbers of children killed or maimed, with the UN having verified the killings of 1,259 Palestinian children and the wounding of 941 others in the Gaza Strip in 2024.
Gaza's Health Ministry have reported much higher figures and the UN says it is in the process of verifying the deaths of 4,470 children killed in 2024.
According to UNICEF, more than 50,000 Palestinian children have been killed or wounded by Israeli forces since the war on Gaza began in October 2023.
A total of 97 children were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,where a total of 3,688 violations were recorded.
Israel has carried out brutal and indiscriminate attacks on schools and hospitals in its war on Gaza.
Humanitarian access was frequently denied or obstructed by Israeli forces, with over 5,000 verified cases in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces have also delayed or obstructed medical care for critically injured Palestinian children, with over 2,800 permit applications for children to access specialised medical care having been denied or delayed, while 5,327 were approved.
The report said that a UN convoy en route to northern Gaza was delayed at a checkpoint and threatened with firearms as Israeli forces tried to detain its personnel and damage its vehicles with bulldozers.
Israel is also a part of the list of countries with the highest numbers of children in detention, with the UN saying that 951 Palestinian children were detained by Israeli forces. This included one detained girl whose whereabouts are unknown.
As of December 2024, 112 children were held under administrative detention without charge or trial, and 25 children from Gaza were held in Israel as “unlawful combatants”.
The Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian group Hamas, and the al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group, were also included in the blacklist for a second time.
Israeli ministers and officials expressed outrage after being listed for the first time in 2024, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes — stating the UN had “added itself to the blacklist of history when it joined those who support [Hamas]”.