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At least 174 Palestinian children have been killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, since January 2024, UNICEF said, meaning more than one child has been killed every week during the period.
Speaking at the UN Security Council, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hannan Sulieman said more than 1,500 Palestinian children have also been injured, nearly half by live ammunition.
Sulieman said UNICEF had documented cases in which Palestinian children were shot despite posing no imminent threat, including incidents in which children were allegedly shot while fleeing.
She also said children in the occupied West Bank have been subjected to shootings, beatings, stabbing and pepper spray, while homes, livelihoods and vital water infrastructure have also come under attack.
According to Israeli Prison Service figures cited by Sulieman, 355 Palestinian children from the West Bank are currently being held in Israeli military detention, the highest number in eight years.
Of those, 164 children are being held under administrative detention without charge or trial, she said.
“Children in the West Bank have the same rights as children everywhere: to live, to learn, to be protected and to imagine a future beyond violence and fear,” Sulieman told the Security Council.
The remarks came as violence and displacement continue across the occupied West Bank. A photograph released by AFP on August 11 showed a Palestinian child crying as Israeli forces prepared to demolish a house in the village of Tal.