Israeli forces killed 54 Palestinian children in West Bank, rights group says
B'Tselem report blames military policy and lack of accountability for one of the deadliest years for Palestinian minors in the occupied territory
WEST BANK, Palestine (MNTV) — Israeli forces killed 54 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank during 2025, according to a report by Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, which said the deaths stemmed from military policy rather than isolated incidents.
The group argued the killings reflect a broader pattern of excessive use of force and a lack of accountability in the occupied territory.
The report describes 2025 as one of the deadliest years for Palestinian children in the West Bank in the past two decades, attributing the fatalities to increasingly permissive rules of engagement, expanded military operations and what it characterizes as a climate of dehumanization toward Palestinians.
B’Tselem spokesperson Yair Dvir said the organization’s findings indicate that many of the children killed posed no immediate threat to Israeli forces.
He said the group documented cases involving children who were shot in their homes, family vehicles, sports grounds and other civilian locations.
According to the report, only two of the 54 children killed were carrying firearms, while at least 21 were not participating in clashes when they were shot. The organization also said seven children were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
B’Tselem reported a sharp rise in Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank since October 2023, stating that children account for nearly one-quarter of the more than 1,000 Palestinians killed during that period.
The organization said its conclusions are based on field investigations carried out by Palestinian researchers who visited incident sites, interviewed witnesses, collected video evidence where available and reviewed the circumstances surrounding each killing.
The report also accuses Israeli forces of delaying or preventing medical teams from reaching wounded children in nearly one-quarter of the documented cases.
It cited the killing of nine-year-old Mohammed Halak in Hebron, alleging that soldiers shot him while he was playing football and delayed his evacuation to hospital.
B’Tselem further criticized what it described as a lack of accountability, saying no indictments have been filed in any of the cases documented in the report, despite some incidents undergoing internal military investigations.
The organization also said Israel continues to withhold the bodies of some Palestinians killed by its forces, reporting that as of June 2026 it was holding the bodies of 18 of the 54 children included in its findings.
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