Israeli army included on UN blacklist for 3rd year over 'grave violations' against children

The United Nations has, for the third consecutive year, included the Israeli armed and security forces among parties that commit grave violations against children in armed conflict, according to a report.

Seen by Anadolu on Wednesday, the yet-to-be-released report, which contains data for 2025, said: "In 2025, violations against children in armed conflict reached unprecedented levels. The UN verified 38,558 grave violations affecting 24,174 children in 2025 (15,493 boys, 7,990 girls, 691 sex unknown), the highest number of children affected by grave violations since the beginning of the mandate."

A senior UN official said on Wednesday that government forces were "the main perpetrators of grave violations against children" for the first time in the 30-year history of the Children and Armed Conflict mandate.

Among government forces, the senior UN official said the Israeli government ranked first among countries committing grave violations against children, followed by Russia.

Noting an increase of 34% and 10%, respectively, in incidents leading to the death and injury of children compared with the previous year, the report said: "The highest numbers of grave violations were verified in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (12,445), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,114), Nigeria (2,560), Myanmar (2,203) and Somalia (2,195)."

According to the report, in 2025, 6,266 children were killed, 7,958 were injured, 6,607 were recruited into armed groups, 8,322 were denied access to humanitarian aid, and 4,573 children were abducted.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in the report that he is "appalled by the magnitude of grave violations against children" in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.

"I am shocked by the ongoing grave violations in the Gaza Strip, and I am deeply alarmed by the escalating violence in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem," he said.

He further pointed to the "staggering rise in attacks" carried out by Israeli occupiers and denounced the "persistent lack of accountability for these violations."