UN committee says Israel ‘severely’ violating children’s rights
A UN committee has slammed Israel for committing “severe violations” of children’s rights in the occupied Palestinian territory.
It pointed to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a human rights treaty ratified by 196 countries, including Israel, saying the state’s war conduct has violated its terms.
“The committee condemns in the strongest terms the severe violations of rights under the convention in the OPT (occupied Palestinian territories), including the tremendous loss of life as a result of the state party’s military actions,” the four-person committee said in a document.
Since October 7, Israeli military attacks have killed thousands of children in Gaza, and more than 150 in the occupied West Bank.
Children write in notebooks by the rubble of destroyed buildings near a tent in Jabalia, northern Gaza
‘Outrageous’ killing of children in Gaza ‘an extremely dark place in history’
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 41,272 people, including 11,355 children, according to health officials.
“The outrageous death of children is almost historically unique. This is an extremely dark place in history,” Bragi Gudbrandsson, vice chairperson of the committee, told reporters.
“I don’t think we have seen this before, a violation that is so massive, as we’ve seen in Gaza. These are extremely grave violations that we do not often see,” he said.
In its conclusions, the committee urged Israel to provide urgent assistance to thousands of children maimed or injured by the war, provide support for orphans and allow more medical evacuations from Gaza.
The UN body has no means of enforcing its recommendations although countries generally aim to comply.
Palestinians carry their children as they flee after an Israeli strike on a school in Gaza City
