GENEVA: A United Nations committee has claimed that Israel had gross violations of a safe treaty on child rights, arguing that its military operations in Gaza were dangerous to children and among the worst in the recent past.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health estimates that 41,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the Israeli military operations in response to Hamas attacks across the border on October 7. The Palestinians say that of those killed in Gaza, at least 11,355 are children, and thousands of others have been injured.

“What has been done to children is nearly a historic rarity for deaths to occur; this is almost one of the darkest periods of history one could point at”, Gudbrandsson, the vice chair of the Committee, stated.

“I do not believe we have witnessed such a violation to the extent that we have witnessed it in Gaza,” he noted, adding that such a severe violation is something they infrequently identify. This treaty was ratified by Israel in 1991, and it also applied to large delegations to unhearings held in Geneva from 03-04-1994.

They said the treaty did not operate in Gaza or the West Banks and that the country remained committed to the law governing armed conflicts. It says its military campaign in Gaza is aimed at eliminating Hamas, an organisation it considers a terrorist group.

Whilst the committee applauded the presence of the Israelis, it claimed that it made this report “with a heavy heart as a result of the state parties’ continued denial of legal responsibilities. ” The sixteen leaders aim to supervise the states parties implementing the 1989 International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is the most recognised treaty that safeguards children against violence and other vices.

In its conclusions, it demands that Israel give urgent help to the thousands of children who were mutilated or wounded by the war, support orphans, and perform more medical evacuations in Gaza. 

The UN body has no authority to make its recommendations mandatory; however, most countries try to follow them. The UN experts also wanted to know many details concerning the Israeli children during the hearings, such as kidnapped children by Hamas, and Israel’s delegation provided the answer.