The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday that at least one Palestinian child has been killed every week in the occupied West Bank, including Jerusalem, since January 2025, the vast majority by Israeli occupation forces.
UNICEF spokesperson James Elder told reporters in Geneva that 70 Palestinian children have been killed and around 850 injured in the West Bank during this period, stressing that 93% of those killed were shot and killed by Israeli forces, most of them with live ammunition.
“Between January 2025 and today, at least one Palestinian child has been killed, on average, every week. That is, 70 Palestinian children killed in this timeframe. Ninety-three per cent of these were killed by Israeli forces. A further 850 children were injured. Most of those children killed or wounded were by live ammunition,” Edler stated, “All this comes amid historic levels of settler attacks. OCHA said last month that March 2026 saw the highest number of Palestinians injured by settler attacks in the past 20 years, and we are seeing attacks become increasingly more coordinated. Documented incidents include children shot, stabbed, beaten, and pepper sprayed.”
“Children are paying an intolerable price for escalating militarised operations and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Between January 2025 and today, at least one Palestinian child has been killed, on average, every week. That is, 70 Palestinian children killed in this timeframe. Ninety-three per cent of these were killed by Israeli forces,” Elder said.
“Children are paying an intolerable price for escalating militarised operations and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
Between January 2025 and today, at least one Palestinian child has been killed, on average, every week.
That is, 70… pic.twitter.com/UZOpVrR2KI
— UNICEF (@UNICEF) May 12, 2026
Elder added that Palestinian children are “paying an unbearable price” for the intensifying Israeli military operations and attacks across the occupied West Bank, including occupied East Jerusalem, describing the pattern as a sustained and grave assault on children’s lives and safety.
He explained that the figures represent a consistent, weekly pattern of lethal violence, not isolated incidents, and that many of the injured children will live with permanent disabilities, trauma, and long-term health complications.
According to UNICEF, most of the child casualties were recorded during Israeli army invasions into Palestinian towns, refugee camps, and villages, as well as during attacks by paramilitary Israeli colonizers operating under the protection of the occupation forces.
The organization noted that live fire is frequently used in densely populated civilian areas where children live, study, and play.
Elder added that the impact on children goes far beyond those killed and injured. Repeated invasions, home attacks, abductions, and colonizer assaults have shattered any sense of safety, disrupted education, and damaged critical civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, and water networks.
UNICEF stressed that Palestinian children in the West Bank are facing a systematic environment of fear and coercion, where the threat of lethal force, arbitrary detention, and colonizer violence is part of their daily reality under military occupation.
The agency called on the Israeli authorities to take “immediate and decisive measures” to prevent any further killing or maiming of Palestinian children and to protect their homes, schools, and water sources, in line with international humanitarian and human rights law.
UNICEF also urged member states with influence over Israel to use their leverage to ensure respect for international law and to halt the ongoing violations against Palestinian children.
The organization reiterated that children must never be targeted and must be protected at all times, emphasizing that the killing and injuring of Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank is unacceptable, unlawful, and cannot be normalized.
Read Full Statement By Mr. James Elder – UNICEF
