Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory and former Chief Justice of the Orissa High Court, said the investigation found evidence that children were specifically targeted during the conflict.
“One of the most shocking findings is the use of what I call quadcopters, which are fitted with thermal imaging cameras and are specifically targeting children,” Muralidhar said. He added that children were being subjected to “single gunshot wounds to their heads and necks to cause maximum damage”.
The report alleges that more than 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed and over 44,000 injured since October 7, 2023. According to the commission, the consequences extend far beyond the casualty figures, with widespread trauma, displacement, orphanhood and the destruction of educational and healthcare infrastructure.
Muralidhar said thousands of injured children were unable to receive adequate treatment because hospitals lacked basic medical supplies. “In just two months, between October and December 2023, there were over 1,000 amputations involving tiny babies and children losing one or more limbs,” he said.
The commission also highlighted the impact on education, estimating that 97% of schools in the Occupied Palestinian Territory have been destroyed, while 95% of universities have been affected. As a result, many children have lost three years of formal schooling.
“What is most shocking, therefore, is that we have destroyed the future of a large generation of Palestinian children,” Muralidhar said.
The report further alleges that Palestinian children have been detained, tortured and subjected to other forms of mistreatment in Israeli prisons. It also raises concerns over the whereabouts of some detained children.
Addressing the commission’s findings on violence against children, Muralidhar said evidence had been gathered through testimony from victims, doctors, video recordings, audio clips and forensic analysis. He said the commission relied on a team of specialists who verified evidence before reaching any conclusions.
“Unless they are completely satisfied with the quality of the evidence, they simply do not reach a finding. So we are on firm footing as far as the findings are concerned,” he said.
According to Muralidhar, the commission concluded that children were being targeted because they represented the future of Palestinian society.
“Children constitute the biological and social continuity of the Palestinians. So it is a very deliberate policy to target children so that there is no future for the Palestinian group,” he said.
The report also alleges that medical facilities and healthcare workers have come under attack. Muralidhar said five of Gaza’s six paediatric care facilities had been destroyed, along with neonatal care units, leaving critically ill children without access to treatment.
Israel has repeatedly rejected findings by UN investigative bodies, arguing that they are biased. Muralidhar said the United Nations continues to invite Israeli participation in its proceedings but has not received cooperation from Israeli authorities.
On possible accountability mechanisms, Muralidhar said countries whose citizens have served in the Israeli Defence Forces could pursue legal action under domestic laws aligned with international humanitarian law. He also pointed to ongoing proceedings at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
“The time for simply expressing condemnation and outrage is over. People want to see action because we are looking at generations of Gazan and Palestinian children who are suffering today, and we need to do something today, right now,” he said.
