UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that Israeli settler groups could be added to a global blacklist for violations against children if attacks on Palestinian minors continue at current levels.
The warning came in the United Nations' latest Children and Armed Conflict report, which recorded a record 24,174 children affected by grave violations in 2025. The figure is the highest since monitoring began in 1996.
According to the report, 38,558 grave violations were verified worldwide last year. These included killings, injuries, sexual violence, abductions and attacks on schools and hospitals.
Guterres expressed particular concern about the situation in the Palestinian Territory and Israel, which the UN said was among the areas most affected by violations against children.
"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.
He also highlighted what he described as a dramatic increase in attacks by Israeli settlers.
"I am deeply alarmed at the staggering rise in attacks carried out by Israeli settlers resulting in grave violations against Palestinian children," he said.
The report documented 9,465 grave violations attributed to Israeli forces and 326 linked to Israeli settlers. Guterres said settler groups could be added to the UN blacklist if similar levels of violations are recorded in 2026.
The UN also verified the deaths of 2,668 Palestinian children in Gaza and 57 in the West Bank during 2025.
The report found that 14,224 children were killed or injured worldwide, including 6,266 deaths. The number of children killed rose by 34 per cent compared with the previous year.
A senior UN official said the highest numbers of violations were recorded in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Myanmar and Somalia.
Guterres also raised concerns about the treatment of Palestinian children in Israeli detention, saying reports of physical violence and poor conditions "may constitute inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
The report continues to list Hamas' armed wing and affiliated groups for the killing and injury of children, as well as abductions. The UN attributed 2,806 violations to Palestinian armed groups.
The publication of the report comes weeks after tensions between Israel and Guterres escalated following a separate UN decision to place Israel on a blacklist of parties suspected of committing sexual violence in conflict. Israel's foreign ministry responded by saying it would sever ties with the UN chief.
While inclusion on a UN blacklist does not automatically lead to sanctions, it can damage a group's international reputation and trigger efforts to negotiate measures aimed at removal from the list.
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