United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has added Israel’s military to a global list of offenders that have committed violations against children. After eight months of genocidal violence committed against Palestinians in Gaza, in which 15,000 children have been murdered, the United Nations finally adds Israel to a list of countries who gravely violate and harm children during conflict. Israel is finally to be added to the annual ‘Children in Armed Conflict’ report compiled by the United Nations, which could further tarnish its image internationally and isolate as a rogue state.

The annual report on children in armed conflict compiles “a list of parties engaging in violations against children”, including killing and maiming, sexual violence and attacks on schools and hospitals. The blacklist is meant to publicly name and shame international actors engaged in abuses against children. But third countries can now use it to restrict arms sales to the offenders.

The Palestine representative at the UN stated ‘Now, faced with the catastrophe in Gaza that the world sees with its naked eyes with the genocide that specifically targets children and women, the UN secretary general no longer has excuses not to place Israel on the blacklist.’

Recently, the UN’s child rights agency UNICEF announced that nine in 10 Palestinian children in Gaza were living in severe child food poverty, surviving on diets comprising two or fewer food groups per day – one of the highest percentages ever recorded.

Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) has also tried to bring to the world’s attention the consequences of Israel’s continued military assault on Gaza is having on Palestinian children, including thousands that have been critically injured since October.

Ayed Abu Eqtaish, DCIP’s accountability programme director, said in a statement that Palestinian children who survive Israeli attacks face a lifetime of recovery to heal from the physical and psychological trauma.’

Being blacklisted could significantly damage Israel’s reputation internationally, as the report will be cited across various UN bodies, including the General Assembly, Security Council, International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

The Palestinian Return Centre welcomes this important, albeit belated, UN blacklisting of Israel as a grave violator of children’s rights, and calls on international government to step up efforts to end trade partnerships with the Israeli occupation.