Israeli forces kill 54 Palestinian children in West Bank in 2025, report says

Human‑rights organization Betselim reported that Israeli occupation forces killed 54 Palestinian children and youths in the West Bank during 2025. Most victims were not engaged in hostilities; 21 were killed despite no involvement in any clashes, and 13 were shot under the pretext of stone‑throwing without any Israeli casualties.

The report breaks down the deaths: 47 were shot with live ammunition, seven died in Israeli air‑strikes, eleven were killed from ambush fire, and nine minors—including two girls—were killed during raids on villages that had not witnessed arrests or fighting. Medical assistance was obstructed in roughly a quarter of cases, with soldiers firing at ambulances or preventing transport to hospitals. As of June 29, 2026, authorities continued to hold the bodies of 18 of the deceased, a practice described as violating international law and denying families the right to mourn.

Betselim called the continued detention of the bodies a breach of international humanitarian norms, exacerbating the suffering of the victims' families.