“UNICEF condemns all acts of violence against children” amid rising death toll in West Bank
NABLUS, WEST BANK, PALESTINE - 2023/11/02: Israeli soldiers stand alert while guarding Jewish settlers who launched an attack on the Palestinian town of Deir Sharaf following a shooting attack that killed an Israeli near the area, in the town of Deir Sharaf, west of Nablus, in the northern West Bank. (Photo by Nasser Ishtayeh/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Violence against children has escalated sharply in the occupied West Bank, where Israel’s ongoing military operations have led to a surge in casualties, UNICEF warned on Wednesday, urging an immediate cessation of hostilities.
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF’s regional director, reported that 13 Palestinian children had been killed since the beginning of the year, with seven of them losing their lives following Israel’s large-scale operation in northern West Bank on January 19.
Among the casualties was a two-and-a-half-year-old child, whose pregnant mother was also injured, according to the United Nations children’s agency.
“UNICEF condemns all acts of violence against children and calls for the immediate cessation of armed activity across the occupied West Bank,” Beigbeder stated. “All civilians, including every child without exception, must be protected.”
Beigbeder also highlighted the widespread destruction caused by airstrikes and demolitions in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas, including in densely populated refugee camps, leading to severe damage to infrastructure, water, and electricity supplies.
Since the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, triggering Israel’s military response in Gaza, a total of 195 Palestinian children and three Israeli children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
This marks a 200 percent increase in Palestinian child fatalities over the past 16 months compared to the previous period.
According to UN humanitarian agency OCHA, 224 children (218 boys and six girls) were killed between January 2023 and January 2025 by Israeli forces or settlers, accounting for nearly half of the 468 children killed in the West Bank since 2005. Additionally, over 2,500 Palestinian children were injured during this period.
