Unicef decries soaring violence against children in West Bank

UNITED NATIONS - Violence against children has surged in recent months in the occupied West Bank, where Israel is conducting a sweeping military operation, Unicef warned Wednesday as it called for an end to hostilities.

Unicef's regional director Edouard Beigbeder said 13 Palestinian children were killed in the West bank since the start of the year alone, including seven killed following the launch of a large-scale operation by Israel in the north of the territory on Jan 19.

The casualties include a two-and-a-half-year-old child, whose pregnant mother was also injured in the shooting, 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 said in a statement.

"All civilians, including every child without exception, must be protected."

He added that the rising use "of explosive weapons, airstrikes and demolitions in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas Governorates -- including in refugee camps and other densely populated areas -- has left essential infrastructure severely damaged, disrupting water and electricity supplies."

In total, 195 Palestinian children and three Israeli children have been killed in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

That constitutes a 200 per cent increase in the number of Palestinian children killed in the territory over the past 16 months, compared to the same period prior.

According to UN humanitarian agency OCHA, 224 children (218 boys and six girls) were killed between January 2023 and January 2025 in the West Bank by Israeli forces or Israeli settlers, which represents nearly half of the 468 children killed in total in the territory since 2005, when OCHA began documenting these victims.

More than 2,500 Palestinian children were also injured in the West Bank between January 2023 and December 2024, according to the agency. - AFP