The report “Children and armed conflicts”, published on Thursday with data verified in 2023, accused Israeli forces of killing and maiming children, as well as attacks on schools and hospitals in Gaza and other occupied areas, particularly between October 7th and December 31st, 2023.

The report identifies those responsible for these violations in an annex, the so-called list of shame, which includes countries such as Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Myanmar, and points to the forces responsible. Israel appears for the first time on the list, having murdered 2,267 minors in Palestine, especially Gaza, out of 5,301 registered worldwide.

According to the report, serious violations of the rights of minors in the occupied Palestinian territories increased by 155 percent compared to last year, with more than eight thousand incidents reported in both Israel and Palestine. In total, 32,990 serious violations were documented last year against 22,557 children in worrying situations around the world, including murder and mutilation, recruitment or use as soldiers, sexual violence, kidnapping, attacks on schools and hospitals and the denial of access to humanitarian aid.

The report was released by the special representative of the Secretary General for children in armed conflict, Virginia Gamba, who issued calls on the international community for greater commitment to the protection of minors in situations of armed conflict and compliance with the responsibilities of states and guarantee the security of their populations as the world faces an increase in conflicts unseen since World War II.

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