Last week the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Occupied Palestinian Territory, headed by former Orissa High Court Chief Justice S Muralidhar, released a report accusing Israel of deliberately targeting children during its military operations in Palestine.
The report documented deaths of at least 20,179 Palestinian children and injuries to 44,143 between the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, prompting a crackdown by Israel, and October 2025. The strikes have created the highest concentration of child amputees globally and left over 58,000 children orphaned, said the report.
Calling these actions “part of a strategy to destroy the biological continuity and future existence of the Palestinian group in Gaza”, the report called for an immediate end to attacks on civilians, unrestricted humanitarian access and reparations for victims, and action against those responsible for serious violations.
In an interview with The Indian Express, Justice Muralidhar discusses the evidence that led to the report’s findings and the challenges of investigating a State such as Israel that stonewalls questions. India cannot afford to ignore what is happening, he says. Excerpts:
How did your appointment to chair this UN Commission come about?
This Commission was set up by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021. In early November last year, I got a call asking if I would be interested… I realised I could not miss this opportunity. It would be an exposure to international human rights law mechanisms and how investigative bodies work at an international level. As a chair, you get to give the Commission the shape and fresh thinking it needs…
What specific evidence led you to conclude that the killing of children in many cases was intentional?
There are two methods Israel deploys. One is intensive airstrikes in densely populated localities using high-yield bombs… You are bound to have severe casualties, (especially of) children… If you are a rights-respecting State, once you see the high child casualties, you would stop…
The second method is using a combination of quadcopters, drones and snipers to target children. The quadcopters are fitted with thermal imaging cameras… The operator can clearly make out… if it is a child. How else do you explain a 10-day-old baby being shot through the head with a quadcopter?… We have so many instances where an adult carrying a child is spared, but the child is shot.
We also held oral hearings in Geneva with treating doctors. They testified to finding tiny holes on the upper parts of children’s bodies. Cube-shaped pellets were precisely aimed at the head and neck… The scale is astonishing.
The Commission says it sent 13 requests for information and access to Israel, all of which went unanswered. How does the panel operate and verify evidence in such a case?
We are an investigating body, so we actively look for contra-indications. We issue public calls, and anyone from around the world can submit material. We have a highly specialised, multinational team of 12 people. This includes military analysts, cyber experts, and legal and gender experts.
If we find two children killed by gunshots, we use forensic tools, geolocation and chrono-location to confirm the presence of Israeli soldiers… Ironically, Israel’s lack of cooperation is offset by its own soldiers posting massive incriminating evidence on social media… They act with impunity.
Furthermore, we sent our draft report to Israel weeks in advance. They never responded to us directly. Instead, they released an 18-page rebuttal… they did not deny the evidence. They didn’t claim the soldiers’ videos were fake… Israel arbitrarily labels boys 10, 12 or 15 years of age as terrorists. Once you label a child a terrorist, the Israeli soldier feels no need to find a reason to kill…
Israeli soldiers have stated in television interviews that their commanders commended them, telling them that irrespective of the target’s age, they have to kill. This is not the work of a few rogue soldiers. It is a deliberate, systematic plan.
The report concludes that Israel’s actions constitute genocide. In international criminal law, proving ‘genocidal intent’ is notoriously difficult.
It is not just the killings. It is the taking over of agricultural land. It is the destruction of 97% of all schools and 22 out of 38 universities. It is the bombing of paediatric and neonatal facilities…
You also have to look at the rhetoric from the top… Two days after the attack of October 7, 2023, Nissim Vaturi, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset, posted on social media: “Erase Gaza… Do not leave a child there. Expel all the remaining ones… so that they will not have a resurrection.”
UN reports and binding International Court of Justice orders with regard to Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians are routinely ignored. Why do you believe your findings will translate into tangible justice?
We cannot lose faith in the system… For instance, there are 6,000 French, nearly 2,00 Britishers and 700 Australians currently serving in the Israeli Defence Forces. All these countries are signatories to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, which places on them an obligation to prosecute their own nationals if they are involved in these atrocities…
We are also urging countries that supply arms to Israel – and India exports small arms to Israel – to cease doing so… The supplying country cannot escape the charge of aiding and abetting war crimes…
When Kulbhushan Jadhav was wrongly captured and denied a fair trial in Pakistan, we went to the International Court of Justice… We want international law when it comes to Wall Street rankings or maritime trade. But the moment it comes to international human rights law, politicians claim it is “foreign” to our traditions…
I really want the Indian government to look at its foreign policy and ask: Are we going to permit fundamental humanitarian principles to be given a go-by? If we fail to act on evidence as stark as this, we cannot redeem ourselves for the future.
Mourners cry while they take the last look at the body of Palestinian Islam Moussa, 15, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, during her funeral in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip (left). Former Orissa High Court Chief Justice S Muralidhar (right | Source: Wikimedia Commons) 
Share
