UN expert reacts after Israeli drone murdered unarmed child in Gaza
United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese speaks at a press conference during a session of the UN Human Rights Council, in Geneva, on March 27, 2024. Francesca Albanese who concluded Israel was committing acts of genocide in the Gaza Strip received broad support at the United Nations on March 26, 2024, with countries speaking up to back her and her report. (Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
A UN expert has condemned the Israeli military’s killing of a Palestinian child in Gaza, calling it part of a “systematic and widespread” campaign of extrajudicial executions aimed at destroying the Palestinian people.
Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory, made the comments after video footage surfaced showing an Israeli drone’s execution-style shooting of a child in central Gaza.
“While these scenes are hard to process, it is important to understand that extrajudicial executions of Palestinian civilians—often children—are absolutely not isolated incidents,” Albanese wrote in a post on social media.
“These events represent a part of the systematic and widespread actions being carried out by Israeli soldiers in Gaza. The rationale? The opportunity to target (and destroy) the Palestinians, which the State of Israel appears determined not to let slip away,” she said.
As citizens rushed to rescue and assist the child, they were hit by a direct strike from the drone as captured in a video shared on X. Eyewitnesses described the scene as extremely difficult.
The tragic event has sparked widespread outrage and condemnation, with many calling for accountability and an end to Israel’s military actions in Gaza.
The disturbing incident is not an isolated one. Israeli forces have been killing Palestinian children with virtually no accountability, with 2022 being the deadliest year for Palestinian children in the West Bank in 15 years.
Human Rights Watch has documented several cases of Israeli forces using unjustified lethal force against Palestinian children, often during confrontations where the children were unarmed or posed no imminent threat.
