Nearly half of all child killings by Israel in West Bank happened in last 2 years: UN reveals

Almost half of all Palestinian children killed by Israeli occupation forces or settlers in the occupied West Bank since records began were killed in just the past two years, highlighting an intensification of violence which has left children and families living under constant fear, said Save the Children.

At least 224 children have been killed by Israeli occupation forces or settlers since January 2023, accounting for nearly half of the 468 children killed in the occupied West Bank since records began in 2005, according to OCHA.

Already this year, at least ten Palestinian children, the youngest just two years old, are among 70 Palestinians killed by Israeli occupation forces in the occupied West Bank in one of the deadliest Januarys for children, just as a pause in hostilities came into effect in Gaza. About 309 people were also injured including 57 children, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

“Children in the West Bank are still being killed, just as they have been for the past 16 months and for decades before. The pause in hostilities in Gaza has only seen an increase in violence for them,” Ahmad Alhendawi, Middle East regional director at Save the Children, said.

“The situation in the West Bank is not an active conflict, it’s an occupation. The use of force is governed by international human rights law. Israeli forces should be operating like a police force, not like an army, but they’re using military tactics and weapons designed for war like air strikes to kill and maim children.”

This is the second most deadly January in the West Bank since records began in 2005. Last year was the worst with 61 people, including 14 children, killed. There has been a 20-fold increase in the number of Palestinian children killed by air strikes in the West Bank in recent years, according to OCHA, with only one child killed in the 18 years between 2005 and 7 October 2023 by air strikes.

Read: Israel shoots dead Palestinian child in southern Gaza Strip despite ceasefire

During 2024, Israeli forces carried out 152 air strikes in the West Bank – at least 82 on densely populated areas like Jenin and Tulkarm refugee camps – killing civilians, destroying homes, schools, and other vital civilian infrastructure, according to the United Nations.

The highest numbers of displacement, demolitions and settler violence across the West Bank were also recorded in 2024, with about 4,250 Palestinians displaced, 1,760 structures destroyed and 1,400 settler attacks, according to OCHA.

“This raises serious concerns about excessive use of force, with war-like tactics including air strikes at odds with international human rights law, norms and standards applicable to law enforcement operations,” Save the Children said.

“We are scared…There’s a lot of mud, bullets, and they [Israeli occupation forces] shoot tear gas. Our school isn’t safe. It’s close to the army… I was sitting here, this window shook, and the glass fell. Every day, there is the sound of drones. We’ve kind of gotten used to it a little,” one eight-year-old Palestinian girl in Jenin Refugee Camp said.

Movement restrictions imposed by Israeli forces have made daily life even more difficult. Since 7 October 2023, almost 900 new military checkpoints and barriers have reportedly been installed, severely limiting families’ ability to travel for work, school, or essential supplies. Children and humanitarian workers report waiting at checkpoints for up to 12 hours.