20,000 children killed in Gaza | 'For some Israelis, every child is an enemy'

Justice S Muralidhar, Chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, says the Commission found evidence suggesting that Palestinian children were deliberately targeted during Israel's military campaign in Gaza, adding that some Israeli political leaders had described "every child" as an enemy. He argues that these findings reinforce the Commission's earlier conclusions on genocide and raise serious questions under international humanitarian and criminal law.The conflict in Gaza has remained one of the world's most contentious humanitarian crises since October 2023. In this episode of Conversations with Nilanjan, The Federal spoke to Justice Muralidhar about the Commission's mandate, its latest report on children in Gaza, its investigative methodology, and the challenges of accountability under international law.Many people were unaware that this UN Commission even existed. Could you explain why it was formed, how it functions, and what makes it different from earlier UN mechanisms?The Commission was established by a resolution of the United Nations Human Rights Council. It is an independent international commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel.Earlier, the UN had constituted ad hoc commissions to investigate specific incidents in the region. Apart from those, there are other UN mechanisms such as Special Rapporteurs, working groups, independent experts, and fact-finding missions.In conflicts such as Rwanda, the former Yugoslavia, and Cambodia, the Security Council created ad hoc tribunals because of the scale of atrocities, reparations, and enforcement issues. In this case, however, the Human Rights Council decided that instead of creating another ad hoc body, it would establish a permanent commission with no fixed tenure.What makes this Commission unique is that it is not limited to investigating individual incidents, such as the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023. It is also tasked with examining the root causes of the conflict. That allows us to go back to developments beginning in 1947, when the United Nations proposed the two-state solution through its resolution establishing separate states for Israel and Palestine.Our mandate covers all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. International human rights law includes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, CEDAW, and other treaties.Also Read: Gaza's genocide is no secret but global silence is deafeningInternational humanitarian law includes the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols, governing the conduct of parties during armed conflict, and the obligations of an occupying power. Israel, as an occupying power in parts of Palestine, has obligations under this body of law.The third branch is international criminal law. Since the Rome Statute of 1998, more than 120 countries have accepted obligations relating to genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.Our Commission investigates alleged violations under all three branches of law, and our findings are intended to assist international accountability mechanisms.The Commission consists of three independent members selected through a rigorous process. Justice Florence Mumba of Zambia has served on international tribunals for Yugoslavia, Rwanda, and Cambodia. Mr Miloon Kothari has extensive UN experience, including work on Myanmar. I bring more than four decades of legal experience.Although our headquarters are in Geneva, we largely function online because Israel has not permitted us to enter the territories.We are completely independent. We are not controlled by either the Human Rights Council or the Security Council. Our work is carried out free of political direction.Your latest report says over 20,000 children were killed and more than 44,000 injured. What were the Commission's principal findings?The period we examined was from October 7, 2023 until the announcement of the ceasefire in October 2025.The October 7 attack by Hamas and affiliated groups involved grave human rights violations. Israeli civilians were taken hostage, more than 2,000 people were killed, and there were incidents of rape, looting, and other serious crimes.Our earlier reports examined those events, genocide in Gaza, sexual and gender-based violence, and the role of non-state actors. The report on children is part of a series of thematic reports.We chose this two-year period because of the unprecedented intensity of Israeli air strikes.When high-yield bombs are repeatedly dropped on densely-populated civilian areas, it is entirely foreseeable that children will suffer disproportionately because they are physically more vulnerable.Within the first two weeks of the bombing...