According to a report by Defence for Children International–Palestine (DCI-Palestine) published by the Palestine Information Center, 2025 has been one of the most terrifying years in the lives of Palestinian children. The report states that the ongoing war on Gaza and the escalating violence in the West Bank have stripped children of their lives, safety, and childhood.
According to Khaled Quzmar, Director-General of DCI-Palestine, in 2025 Palestinian children were killed, injured, starved, abducted, and displaced every single day. The report states that not a single child remained safe throughout the entire year.
During 2025 in the West Bank, 54 Palestinian children were killed by Israeli forces and Israeli settlers. In addition, since June 2016, Israel has withheld the bodies of 62 children; only 6 bodies have been returned, while 56 remain withheld.
Conditions in Gaza were even worse. According to the report, hunger was used as a weapon of war. Food, water, medicines, and electricity were cut off, affecting even newborn infants.
Palestinian children also endured abuse in Israeli prisons. In addition, 17-year-old Walid Khalid Abdullah Ahmed died in custody, marking the first such case in 2025. According to the report, as of 30 September 2025, 350 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli prisons.
The report warned that cases of the forced disappearance of children increased rapidly in 2025, which is a matter of grave concern.