'Ran tank over child, shot baby in the head...' Israel brutal acts against Gaza children emerge
A harrowing new report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry has revealed that the signing of the October 2025 Gaza peace plan failed to stop a systematic campaign of violence, finding that Israel has continued to perpetrate war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide against Palestinian children.
Since the implementation of the ceasefire, at least 100 children have been killed and hundreds more wounded in Gaza alone, as of mid-January 2026.
The Commission’s findings, presented to the Human Rights Council, outline a "permissive military culture" where children are frequently targeted by high-precision weaponry and subjected to dehumanizing abuse.
The "Yellow Line" Death Trap
The report highlights the creation of a newly established demarcation boundary inside Gaza, dubbed the "yellow line," which has effectively become a death trap for civilians.
Enforced by the Israeli military with concrete barriers but lacking clear warnings or safe passage, children have been shot for unintentionally crossing this arbitrary line while attempting to return home or fetch firewood.
On November 29, 2025, two brothers, aged nine and ten, were killed by a drone strike near Bani Suheila while gathering firewood for their father. Although the Israeli military claimed the boys were "suspects" posing an "immediate threat," the Commission found they were more than 300 meters from Israeli positions and their status as children was clearly visible to the drone operator.
In another post-ceasefire atrocity on December 10, 2025, a 16-year-old boy in the Jabalia camp was shot by soldiers, who then used a tank to run over and mutilate his body.
Brutal acts and deliberate targeting
Medical professionals who served in Gaza provided the Commission with evidence of a "consistent pattern" of children being targeted by snipers and quadcopters with single gunshot wounds to the head and chest.
One doctor described this as a "game of target practice," where different body parts of children were targeted on different days.
The Commission investigated several specific instances of these brutal acts:
* The Killing of Hind Rajab: In January 2024, six-year-old Hind was trapped in a car in Gaza City with six dead family members while under direct fire from an Israeli tank. The Commission confirmed that Israeli forces deliberately shelled a Red Crescent ambulance sent to rescue her, killing two paramedics.
* Assault on the vulnerable: A 10-day-old baby boy was shot in the head by a quadcopter on April 12, 2024, while being breastfed by his mother inside their tent.
* On August 24, 2024, a four-year-old girl was hit in the head by a bullet while eating with her family in their tent, leaving her partially paralyzed.
* White Flag Killings: A 15-year-old boy holding a white flag was shot three times by a sniper in Khan Younis; when his 20-year-old brother ran to help him, he too was shot and killed.
Voices of the Victims: Eyewitness Accounts
The report draws heavily on direct testimonies from children and healthcare workers who witnessed the collapse of human dignity in detention and hospitals.
* Torture in Detention: A 15-year-old boy recounted being held for 54 days, during which he was electrocuted through a needle inserted into his shoulder and forced to drink his own urine after being denied water. Another 15-year-old boy at the Sde Teiman facility described being the only child in a cell with 70 adults, where he was shackled until his hands bled and had dogs released on him.
* Sexual Violence and Humiliation: A teenage girl testified that after being shot, soldiers cut off her clothes and veil, leaving her in her underwear to be photographed by male soldiers. The Commission found that Palestinian boys are systematically stripped to their underwear and filmed in degrading positions as a method of "collective shaming".
* Hospital Horrors: A surgeon at Al-Shifa Hospital described coining the label "Wounded Child No Surviving Family" (WCNSF) for the influx of orphans. One doctor recounted the agonizing death of a seven-month-old girl from malnutrition because basic infant formula was unavailable due to the blockade.
Systematic Dehumanization
The Commission condemned a widespread pattern of Israeli soldiers filming themselves mocking and destroying children's toys and symbols of childhood.
Videos verified by the Commission show soldiers cocking machine guns with plastic toy rhinoceroses and hanging teddy bears by their necks from tank barrels.
The report concludes that these acts are fueled by rhetoric from senior Israeli officials who have publicly labeled Palestinian children "born terrorists". The Commission maintains that the intentional targeting of children is a central element of a strategy to destroy the biological continuity of the Palestinian people in Gaza.