UN inquiry cites genocide as Israeli strikes kill child in Gaza safe zone
Despite a ceasefire in effect since October 2025, Israeli forces killed at least two Palestinians on Wednesday, including a child in a designated safe zone, while a UN commission linked deliberate targeting of minors to ongoing genocide.
Israeli military operations continued in Gaza and the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, 24 June 2026, resulting in the deaths of at least two Palestinians despite the existence of a ceasefire agreement that has been in place since October 2025. The incidents underscore the persistent volatility in the region and the challenges facing humanitarian and diplomatic efforts to stabilise the territory.
In al-Mawasi, located west of Khan Younis in southern Gaza, a drone strike targeted a tent in an area classified by Israeli authorities as a “safe zone”. Health officials at the Nasser Medical Complex confirmed that a 12-year-old child, identified as Ahmed, was killed and seven other Palestinians were wounded in the attack. Al Jazeera reporter Hind Khoudary noted that medical teams face significant difficulties treating victims due to ongoing restrictions on the entry of medical supplies and medications into the Gaza Strip.
The killing of the child occurred one day after a United Nations commission of inquiry released a report concluding that Israel’s deliberate targeting of children constitutes part of an ongoing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Srinivasan Muralidhar, the chair of the UN commission, stated that evidence shows Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed, with continued disregard for international law and the protection owed to minors even after the ceasefire took effect.
Simultaneously, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli special forces conducted an operation in the town of al-Yamoun, west of Jenin. Palestinian health authorities reported that Mohammed Nazem Zayed, 29, was killed by live fire during the raid. Troops reportedly surrounded a house where Zayed was located before opening fire, leaving him to bleed to death. The Palestinian Health Ministry stated that Israeli forces were withholding his body.
Israeli media outlet Walla reported that soldiers from the Duvdevan unit were responsible for the killing in al-Yamoun, describing the incident as an “operational activity”. Since the beginning of 2026, at least 71 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank. Since the conflict escalated in October 2023, Israeli actions in the West Bank have resulted in 1,173 deaths, 12,666 injuries, approximately 23,000 arrests, and 33,000 displacements.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported that since the ceasefire began in October 2025, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,027 people and injured 3,280 others. Cumulative casualties in Gaza since October 2023 stand at 73,041 killed and 173,402 wounded. Al Jazeera’s Khoudary highlighted that despite the truce, Israeli forces have continued to violate and breach the agreement, with further attacks reported on the western side of Gaza on Tuesday night.
