UN warns Israeli settlers could join blacklist for violations against children
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Wednesday that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children as he voiced alarm at a "staggering" rise in violations against Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank.
The world body's annual report on Children and Armed Conflict recorded 38,558 "grave violations" globally in 2025, affecting 24,174 children, the latter figure a record since CAAC's mandate began in 1996.
The data showed 14,224 children killed or maimed, with a 34 percent rise over 2024 in the number killed to 6,266. It said the United Nations had verified the killing of 2,668 Palestinian children in Gaza and 57 in the West Bank.
A child injured by Israeli settlers lies in a hospital bed, next to his father Youssef Muzahim, near Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank 2 June 2026. (Mohamad Torokman / Reuters)