Extract from ABC News
For the first time, the United Nations has added Israel's armed and security forces, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) militant group to its list of offenders for violating children's rights.
The UN's annual Children and Armed Conflict Report is prepared by Secretary-General António Guterres and documents the spread of armed conflicts involving children across the world.
In its 2023 findings, released on Thursday local time, it concluded violations against children in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, which includes Gaza, had increased by 155 per cent.
The list is meant to shame parties so that they promise to enact measures outlined by the UN to protect children.
The findings singled out Israel's armed and security forces, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group.
"[I am] appalled by the dramatic increase and unprecedented scale and intensity of grave violations against children in the Gaza Strip, Israel and the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, despite my repeated calls for parties to implement measures to prevent grave violations," Mr Guterres said.
The Sudanese Armed Forces and rival paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces were also added to the list of violators, alongside groups like Islamic State and the Taliban.
So what is the significance of these findings for the nation of Israel, when its armed forces are on the list?
Report details thousands of violations against children
For the first time, the UN added Israel's armed and security forces to the list of "parties that commit grave violations affecting children in situations of armed conflict".
It found Israel's forces had done this through the killing and maiming of children as well as the attacking of schools and hospitals, particularly inside Gaza during war.
Israel rejects those findings, and claims the report is politically motivated.
The report also listed Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant groups for the first time for killing, injuring and abducting children, including during the October 7 attacks in southern Israel.
The two groups are yet to comment on the findings.
The United Nations verified at least 8,009 grave violation cases in the region, including incidents that involved 4,247 Palestinian children and 113 Israeli children.
It reports that Israeli army and security forces were responsible for 5,698 of the violations.
The report noted that another 23,000 cases of grave violations in Gaza were pending confirmation from the last quarter of 2023.
What does Israel say the decision means?
An Israeli official described it as a "politically motivated" decision, saying the finding is a "watershed moment" for Israel's relationship with the UN.
The official questioned the numbers of casualties and the methodology used, and hinted Israel would be seeking to take the issue further.
"We are considering options on what to do, there will be a reaction," the official said, but would not elaborate.
"We see it as a dangerous precedent, listing a democratic army."
Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan criticised the decision after being made aware of the report's findings last week, describing it as "simply outrageous and wrong".
"I responded to the shameful decision and said that our army is the most moral in the world," he wrote in a post on X.
"The only one being blacklisted is the Secretary-General who incentivizes [sic] and encourages terrorism and is motivated by hatred towards Israel."
It's unlikely the listing will have any impact on the trajectory of the Israel-Gaza war.
Former vice-director-general of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and retired ambassador Jeremy Issacharoff said the addition of Israel's security and armed forces to the list was highly objectionable, but it could affect the country's public image.
"You look at the list and you see the company we're in, I think that is just unacceptable," he said.
"I can't say that this has stirred up a great deal of respect from Israel regarding the morality of the UN.
"This is not a war that is fought just on the battlefield, this is something that is fought in international organisations. And obviously, these things have an impact on how we conduct a very, very difficult war.
"So it's something that does impact Israelis' sensitivities."
Can Israel do anything to remove itself from the blacklist?
One purpose of the report is to pressure groups and governments into committing to measures, approved by the UN, to reduce harm and violence to children.
Mr Guterres reiterated calls for Israel to abide by international law — which Israel maintains it is — and to ensure that civilians are not targeted, along with not using excessive forces during security operations.
The findings in the report are not legal findings and have no legal implications.
To
get off the blacklist, those on it are encouraged to develop an action
plan in conjunction with UN representatives, and then implement it.
Mr Guterres encouraged the Israeli government to sign such an action plan.
Israel says it's already engaging with the UN.
What else does the report say?
The report paints a grim overall picture, citing that violence against children caught in multiple conflicts had reached "extreme levels" in 2023.
It found there were an unprecedented number of killings and injuries and outlined a "shocking 21 per cent increase in grave violations" against children from escalating conflicts in regions including Israel and Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and Myanmar.
For the second year in a row, Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups were kept on the blacklist.
Sudan's Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces were also added to the list of offenders.
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