Michigan — The American Center for Justice (ACJ) states that the suspension of Israeli military operations in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon has exposed one of the deepest humanitarian catastrophes affecting children in the history of modern conflict. The attacks have resulted in the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, including thousands of children, with many others still trapped beneath the rubble. Meanwhile, the number of child amputees has surpassed the thousands due to the direct and systematic targeting of civilians. ACJ stresses that these harrowing facts reflect a grim reality: a war in which the most basic rules of international humanitarian law were disregarded, leaving a generation torn between killing, amputation, and displacement, amid a stark absence of justice and accountability.
In the Gaza Strip, children constituted the largest proportion of victims. ACJ documented the killing of approximately 21,000 children among the tens of thousands of civilians killed over more than 400 days of intensive bombardment, while many other children are believed to remain missing beneath the debris of destroyed buildings. Countless children are living with permanent disabilities following amputations performed under extreme conditions, often without anesthesia, due to the collapse of the healthcare system and the blockade. United Nations reports confirm that women and children constituted nearly 70% of recent casualties, underscoring the scale of the widespread targeting of these groups. The catastrophe has been further compounded by the emergence of “unaccompanied children,” with thousands having lost one or both parents, leaving them doubly victimized by trauma, loss, and lack of care.
In Lebanon, hostilities that erupted in October 2023 have resulted in the deaths of more than 3,500 civilians, including 250 children, and injuries to more than 1,500 children of varying severity. The attacks have displaced over 250,000 people, most of them children and women, who have sought refuge in schools and shelter centers. This forced displacement has deprived thousands of children of education for two consecutive years and has inflicted profound psychological distress on children in the South, Bekaa, and Dahieh regions due to ongoing bombardment and the absence of safety and stability.
The American Center for Justice (ACJ) affirms that the facts revealed following the pause in military operations constitute a flagrant and ongoing violation of international humanitarian law. The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1949 Geneva Conventions impose strict obligations for the protection of children in armed conflict, while the Rome Statute classifies the deliberate targeting of children as a war crime and a crime against humanity that is not subject to any statute of limitations. ACJ emphasizes that the scale of harm inflicted on children cannot be dismissed as collateral damage but instead reflects a systematic pattern of disregard for international protection norms.
ACJ calls on the international community to establish an independent international commission of inquiry and to refer its findings to the appropriate bodies to ensure accountability for crimes committed against children in Gaza and Lebanon, and to exert pressure on Israel to end its ongoing violations and fully comply with international law. The organization also urges the creation of safe humanitarian corridors to allow the flow of medical and food aid, the implementation of urgent medical and psychological rehabilitation programs for child amputees, and the reconstruction of educational institutions to enable displaced families to return to safe and dignified living conditions.
The American Center for Justice (ACJ) concludes by stressing that the protection of children in conflict zones is an international legal and moral obligation that cannot be compromised. The continued perpetration of these crimes without accountability is a stain on the conscience of humanity and demands urgent action to safeguard the future of the children of Gaza and Lebanon, who have borne the unbearable weight of a war that spared no aspect of their childhood.
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