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Fact check: What are the main causes of child deaths in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
Executive Summary
The main causes of child deaths in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict are multi‑layered: direct lethal force from hostilities (airstrikes, shelling, gunfire, and ground operations), secondary effects of siege and blockade (starvation, malnutrition, disease, and lack of medical care), and specific abuses including unlawful use of force and detention practices; reporting attributes the majority of verified grave violations in recent years to Israeli forces while other actors also cause civilian harm [1] [2] [3]. Recent humanitarian and demographic assessments show tens of thousands of children killed or injured across Gaza and the West Bank since 2023 and document cascading effects on orphanhood, health systems collapse, and long‑term trauma—facts that demand attention to both immediate protection and longer term accountability and relief [3] [4] [2].
1. Why so many children are dying now — the lethal mix of weapons and civilians
The spike in child fatalities in Gaza and the West Bank stems from intensive kinetic operations: airstrikes and artillery in densely populated urban areas, plus ground operations that produce high civilian casualties. Multiple reports link thousands of child deaths directly to bombardment and live‑fire incidents; UNICEF and UN assessments document mass casualties and note that urban warfare in Gaza concentrates fatal risks where children live, sleep, and seek shelter [3] [1]. Human Rights Watch and other monitors have collected case‑level evidence alleging unlawful or disproportionate use of lethal force against civilians including children, a pattern that international child‑protection and human‑rights bodies have flagged repeatedly [5]. These sources converge that direct violence during military operations is the dominant immediate cause of child deaths in recent years.
2. Secondary killers: siege, hunger, disease and the collapse of services
Beyond bullets and bombs, child mortality has surged because of blockade‑driven shortages: lack of food, medicines, clean water, and functioning hospitals. Health and demographic studies estimate thousands of child deaths and dramatic increases in mortality from malnutrition and communicable disease as Gaza’s health system collapsed under blockade and sustained strikes; the 2025 health analyses show the youth death rate reversal and linkage to disrupted services and displacement [4] [2]. UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies repeatedly call for unimpeded aid corridors and note that indirect causes—starvation, untreated infection, and lack of neonatal and pediatric care—account for a substantial share of preventable child deaths where sieges and infrastructure destruction persist [3] [4].
3. The West Bank picture: policing, live ammunition, and individual incidents
In the West Bank the principal proximate causes reported for child deaths include shootings during demonstrations, raids, settler‑related violence, and the use of live ammunition by security forces. UNICEF data show a significant number of Palestinian children killed or injured in the West Bank since October 2023 with many instances attributed to excessive or unnecessary use of force by security personnel [6]. Human rights organizations document case files, asserting children shot during confrontations or in alleged enforcement actions posed no imminent lethal threat, prompting calls for revised engagement rules and accountability [5]. The pattern in the West Bank differs from Gaza in scale and operational profile but shares the underlying theme of security operations translating into high child vulnerability.
4. Disputed counts, verification challenges, and divergent narratives
Casualty figures vary across sources because of access limitations, methodological differences, and political contestation; UNICEF, UN reports, academic demographic studies, and media outlets present overlapping but not identical tallies—UN verifications list thousands of grave violations against children while demographic papers provide higher aggregate mortality estimates for 2023 [1] [2]. Media narratives from different outlets emphasize different aspects—some spotlight stories of Israeli victimization and threat narratives, others amplify Palestinian child casualties and blockade effects—producing competing frames that influence public perceptions and policy responses [7] [8]. Analysts caution that verification in active conflict zones is inherently constrained, so triangulating UN, humanitarian, demographic, and independent human‑rights investigations yields the clearest composite picture [1] [2] [5].
5. What this implies for protection, accountability, and policy choices
The documented causes point to two complementary imperatives: immediate protection measures to stop direct killing and restore life‑saving services, and accountability mechanisms to deter unlawful conduct. UNICEF and UN reports insist on ceasefires, humanitarian access, and compliance with international law to prevent further child deaths and orphanhood [3] [1]. Human Rights Watch and other legal monitors call for investigations into alleged unlawful use of lethal force and for states and international bodies to press for accountability to change behavior [5]. The evidence shows that reducing child mortality requires both an end to hostilities that kill children directly and sustained relief to address siege‑related causes, together with credible mechanisms to investigate and prevent future violations [3] [4] [5].