UN inquiry commission says Israel deliberately targeted children in Gaza, calls it part of genocide

According to BBC Middle East, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry, operating under the UN Human Rights Council, released its 248-page report in Geneva on Tuesday morning after an 18-month investigation. Commission Chair Navi Pillay said « the scale and pattern of the cases we have documented led us to the conclusion that children were deliberately and systematically targeted ». The report said it examined 1,247 separately documented incidents at schools and hospitals in Gaza since October 2023, cross-verifying satellite imagery, witness testimony and medical records.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said in a written statement « this report is biased and factually wrong; it ignores the embedding of Hamas's infrastructure in civilian areas and the IDF's measures to protect civilians ». Israel's Permanent Mission to the UN said it rejects the commission's mandate as « containing procedural violations » but also acknowledged that it refrained from submitting evidence to the commission. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki described the report as « a defining moment for the historical record » and announced an additional submission to the International Criminal Court.

International reaction was divided. EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, speaking in Brussels, said « the report contains extremely serious findings that require thorough examination ». US State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said « the United States rejects the genocide characterisation, but we will raise the importance of protecting children directly with our Israeli counterparts ». No statement is expected from the ICC prosecutor's office; the existing Gallant-Netanyahu arrest warrants are being processed separately. The UN Human Rights Council will discuss the report at its regular session on 8 July; Council members Brazil, South Africa and Norway have already expressed support.