U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children, voicing alarm at a "staggering" rise in violations against Palestinian children.
The United Nations' annual report on Children and Armed Conflict recorded 38,558 "grave violations" globally in 2024, affecting 24,174 children, a record since the report's mandate began in 1996.
The data showed 14,224 children killed or maimed, with a 34% rise in the number killed to 6,266 compared to the previous year. The U.N. verified the killing of 2,668 Palestinian children in Gaza and 57 in the West Bank.
The Gaza war began Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led fighters attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures. Israel responded with a large-scale military campaign that has since killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.
"Countries with the highest levels of violations in 2024 were the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Somalia," a senior U.N. official said in a briefing on the report.
Settler groups in focus
Israel already features in the report's "list of shame" annexes for alleged violations, but the latest version for the first time highlights settlers as a potential future listing.
"I am appalled by the magnitude of grave violations against children in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, notably by the widespread use of explosive weapons in populated areas," Guterres said in the report.
"I am deeply alarmed at the staggering rise in attacks by Israeli settlers resulting in grave violations against Palestinian children," Guterres added.
He said Israeli settler groups should be listed if the high number of violations repeats in 2026.
The report attributed 9,465 grave violations to Israeli forces and 326 to Israeli settlers.
It defines grave violations as including the killing and maiming of children, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Israel's U.N. mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The report also continues to blacklist Hamas' armed wing and affiliated factions for violence against children, attributing 2,806 violations to Palestinian armed groups.
This new report comes weeks after Guterres slammed Israel by adding it to a separate U.N. blacklist for parties suspected of sexual violence in conflict zones, prompting Israel's Foreign Ministry to say it would sever all ties with him.
Guterres said he was alarmed by the high number of children Israel detained and by reports of severe physical violence and poor conditions during detention, saying these "may constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
Being blacklisted does not trigger automatic sanctions, but brings reputational harm and requires the negotiation of action plans to secure delisting.