UN Blacklists Israeli Forces for Grave Violations Against Children in 2024

Watan-The United Nations has kept Israeli military and security forces on its “blacklist” of parties committing grave violations against children in conflict zones during 2024.

According to UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s report titled Children and Armed Conflict, which compiles 2024 data, Israel remains on the blacklist this year as a party responsible for serious violations against children in armed conflict.

The report described Israeli forces as “the party responsible for killing and maiming children” and “the party that attacked schools and/or hospitals.”

Key findings include:

• 951 Palestinian children were detained by Israeli forces:

  • 602 in the West Bank

  • 259 in East Jerusalem

  • 90 in Gaza

• 27 Palestinian children were used as human shields during military operations in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

• 1,561 Palestinian children with disabilities were directly harmed:

  • 1,507 by Israeli forces

  • 54 by settlers

The report also documented 5,091 instances where Israeli forces blocked humanitarian aid from reaching Palestinians:

• 2,828 times in the West Bank and East Jerusalem

• 2,263 times in Gaza

Guterres expressed “deep concern” over the continuing escalation of grave violations against children by Israeli forces and called for accountability for these crimes. He reminded all parties of their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including the special protection of children, and the safeguarding of schools and hospitals.

This report comes as Israel, with U.S. support, has been waging a campaign of genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, involving mass killings, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement—ignoring global appeals and International Court of Justice orders to cease hostilities.

To date, the genocide has left around 186,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them women and children, with over 11,000 missing, hundreds of thousands displaced, and widespread famine claiming countless lives, including those of children.