GENEVA — The United Nations condemned today the toll from “escalating” Israeli military operations and settler attacks in the occupied West Bank on children, with 70 Palestinian children killed since the start of 2025.

“Children are paying an intolerable price for escalating military operations and settler attacks across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem,” UN children’s agency spokesman James Elder told reporters.

Since the start of 2025, when Israel began a large-scale military operation in the West Bank, “at least one Palestinian child has been killed on average every single week” there, adding that another 850 children had been injured during that period.

“Most of those killed or wounded were done by live ammunition,” he said.

Israeli forces were responsible for a full 93 per cent of the deaths, Elder said, highlighting that the scaled-up military operations had come amid “historic levels of settler attacks”.

According to the UN, March 2026 saw the highest number of Palestinians injured by Israeli settlers in at least 20 years, he pointed out.

“Documented incidents include children shot, stabbed, children beaten and children pepper-sprayed,” Elder pointed out.

He stressed that such incidents were taking place against the backdrop of the “steady dismantling of the conditions children need to survive and grow”.

“Homes are demolished, education is destroyed, water systems are attacked, access to healthcare is obstructed, movement is restricted,” he said.