United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a stark warning Wednesday that Israeli settler groups could find themselves added to a worldwide blacklist for serious violations committed against children, as he expressed deep concern over what he called a “staggering” increase in harm done to Palestinian children.
The UN’s yearly report on Children and Armed Conflict documented 38,558 “grave violations” around the world in 2025, impacting 24,174 children — the highest number of affected children recorded since the program’s mandate was established in 1996.
According to the data, 14,224 children were killed or seriously injured, with the number of children killed climbing 34% compared to 2024, reaching 6,266. The UN verified that 2,668 Palestinian children were killed in Gaza and another 57 in the West Bank.
The conflict in Gaza traces back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters launched an attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people based on Israeli figures. Israel then launched a major military campaign that has since resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians.
A senior UN official told reporters during a briefing on the report that “countries with the highest levels of violations in 2025 were the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia.”
While Israel already appears in what is commonly referred to as the report’s “list of shame” for alleged violations, this year’s edition marks the first time Israeli settler groups have been flagged as a potential future addition to that list.
“I am appalled by the magnitude of grave violations against children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, notably by the widespread use of explosive weapons in populated areas,” Guterres wrote in the report.
He went on to say: “I am deeply alarmed at the staggering rise in attacks carried out by Israeli settlers resulting in grave violations against Palestinian children.”
Guterres stated that Israeli settler groups should be formally listed if similarly high numbers of violations occur again in 2026.
The report attributed 9,465 grave violations to Israeli forces and 326 to Israeli settlers. Grave violations are defined to include killing and injuring children, sexual violence, and attacks targeting schools and hospitals.
Israel’s UN mission did not respond to a request for comment.
Hamas’s armed wing and affiliated factions remain on the blacklist for killing and maiming children and for abductions. Palestinian armed groups were attributed 2,806 violations in the report.
This latest report arrives just weeks after Guterres angered Israel by placing it on a separate UN blacklist of countries and parties suspected of committing sexual violence during conflict. That decision prompted Israel’s foreign ministry to announce it was cutting off all ties with him.
Guterres also raised concern about the high number of children detained by Israel, citing reports of serious physical abuse and poor conditions, saying these situations “may constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Being placed on the blacklist does not automatically trigger sanctions, but it carries significant reputational consequences and requires negotiating action plans in order to be removed from the list.
