UNICEF reported on Tuesday that 70 children have been killed in the occupied Palestinian territories outside Gaza since early 2025, a cadence the agency described as roughly one child per week. The U.N. childrens agency also said more than 800 children have been injured during the same period.
According to UNICEF, the majority of those killed or wounded in the West Bank and East Jerusalem were struck by live ammunition. Other forms of injury included stabbing, beatings and exposure to pepper spray, the agency said.
Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva following a visit to the West Bank last week, UNICEF spokesperson James Elder framed the cases as part of a continuing pattern. He said the incidents are not isolated and amount to "a sustained pattern of the worst kind of violation - violations against children," reflecting the agencys concern about repeated harm to minors in the area.
"These are not isolated incidents. They point to a sustained pattern of the worst kind of violation - violations against children," James Elder said at the Geneva briefing.
Elder told the briefing that 93% of the children who had lost their lives since January 2025 were killed by Israeli forces. He said the remaining child fatalities were the result of settler attacks, unexploded ordnance or accidental hits by Palestinian forces.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on UNICEFs findings. Human rights groups, UNICEF said, have described a renewed surge in violence against Palestinians by both Israeli settlers and soldiers since 2023.
UNICEFs statement also referenced the fact that the United Nations and most countries consider Israels settlements on West Bank land captured in the 1967 war to be illegal, a position Israel disputes. The agency presented the casualty figures and circumstances of injury and death without attributing additional causes beyond those reported.
Scope and limitations - The UNICEF figures cover the occupied Palestinian territories excluding Gaza. The agency provided details on methods of injury and broad responsibilities but the information available in its statement is limited to the numbers, the types of harm reported, and the attributions Elder made at the Geneva briefing.