Published on: 2026-05-12
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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Children in the occupied West Bank continue to suffer as a result of Israeli military operations and participation in attacks by settlers. Meanwhile, in Gaza, tens of thousands of people with severe injuries remain without necessary treatment and rehabilitation. Representatives of the UN agency warned about this on Tuesday.
Speaking in Geneva, the representative of the UNICEF Children’s Fund, James Elder, said that children on the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are “paying an unbearable price” for the ongoing violence.
Since January 2025, about 70 children have been killed there – on average at least one child every week. Another 850 children were injured, mainly as a result of the use of combat ammunition.
Attacks on settlers
According to Elder, all this is happening against the backdrop of “unprecedented level of attacksfrom the settlers” side. He noted that in March 2026, a record number of victims was recorded over the last 20 years as a result of such attacks.
“We see that the attacks are becoming increasingly coordinated,” said a UNHCR representative, citing data from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). According to him, there are documented cases when children were shot at, beaten, stabbed, or subjected to pepper spray.
Elder said that during a recent trip to the West Coast, he met an eight-year-old boy who was beaten with a wooden stick during an attack by settlers. The child sustained head injuries and was hospitalized.
“His mother suffered fractures in both arms when she tried to shield her four-month-old baby,” he added.
Attacks on schools
The UNISEF representative also expressed concern about the increase in the number of attacks related to the education system, including murders, injuries, and detentions of schoolchildren, as well as the destruction of schools.
“Schools, which should be a safe place where stability reigns, are increasingly becoming a focal point of crisis,” Elder noted.
He told how he accompanied schoolchildren on the way to school, trying to help them avoid attacks.
“It’s interesting to watch how they walk… They don’t walk in a straight line because they constantly look around,” he noted.
Children in prison
Elder also reported a “sharp increase” in the number of arrests and detentions of Palestinian children in the occupied territories. According to him, 347 minors are currently held in Israeli military prisons, accused of security-related offenses, — this is the highest figure in the last eight years.
“What causes particular concern is that more than half of them – 180 children – are held under administrative arrest without proper procedural guarantees, including regular access to a lawyer and the opportunity to challenge the detention,” he said.
Situation in Gaza
Meanwhile, in Gaza, according to Elder, after the cessation of fire in October 2025, the UN documented the death of at least 229 children and injuries to another 260.
The representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in the occupied Palestinian territories, Rayn Ildeh van de Verdt, told journalists that about 10 thousand children in the Gaza Strip sustained injuries that will permanently change their lives.
In total, out of approximately 172 thousand people wounded in Gaza since October 2023, about 43 thousand sustained serious injuries to limbs, spine, or brain. Nearly 2,500 people were injured after the cessation of fire in October 2025.
According to the WHO data, out of 2,277 people who underwent limb amputations, less than a quarter received permanent prostheses due to the acute shortage of necessary materials and equipment.
Speaking from Jerusalem, Van de Verdt reported that while awaiting permission to bring items into Gaza, at least 18 batches of rehabilitation equipment, including wheelchairs and prosthetics, are awaiting entry. The waiting period ranges from 130 days to more than a year.
In total, according to WHO estimates, more than 50 thousand injured people need long-term rehabilitation, but there is currently not a single rehabilitation center operating in the Gaza Strip.
“Every day that rehabilitation services in Gaza remain inaccessible and without necessary resources increases the risk that preventable disability will become permanent,” emphasized the WHO representative.
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