Gaza: B'Tselem, the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories, released a new report detailing the 54 cases in which Israeli forces killed Palestinian children and teenagers in the West Bank in 2025.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, the report highlighted that from 7 October 2023 to 28 June 2026, Israel killed 1,086 Palestinians in the West Bank, 241 of them children and teenagers. Nearly one in every four Palestinians killed by Israel in the West Bank during this period was a minor, marking the highest rate of Palestinian children and teenagers killed in the region since Israel occupied the territory in 1967.
B'Tselem Executive Director Yuli Novak emphasized the broader Israeli policy that permits the killing of Palestinians with little to no accountability. She stated that the military commander of the area has indicated that Israel is killing Palestinians like they haven't since 1967, which suggests a system that supports those who use lethal force without consequence.
The report pointed out that these killings are not isolated incidents or violations of military orders but are a result of an Israeli policy that broadens the circumstances under which soldiers can shoot and kill, including children. It also noted that Palestinians killed are often labeled as "terrorists" even when they posed no threat, and that the perpetrators are rarely held accountable.
B'Tselem also addressed recent statements by Maj. Gen. Avi Bluth, head of the Israeli military's Central Command, who boasted about the high number of fatalities as an achievement, aligning with the report's findings.
Despite the scale of these killings, B'Tselem is not aware of any indictments filed in Israel since October 2023 concerning the deaths of Palestinians in the West Bank, including those of children and teenagers. The report also revealed that Israeli forces frequently delayed or prevented medical teams from assisting wounded children and teenagers, and that Israel is withholding the bodies of 18 of the 54 children and teenagers killed in 2025.
B'Tselem linked these actions in the West Bank to Israel's killing of over 21,000 Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip, suggesting that the lack of international consequences for actions in Gaza has emboldened similar policies in the West Bank. The report concluded by highlighting the near-total impunity Israel enjoys globally, which leaves Palestinian lives, including those of children, vulnerable and unprotected.