Former Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno was sentenced Friday (August 28, 2026) to 5 years in prison after a court found him guilty of accepting bribes from a Chinese company in exchange for helping it secure a contract to build a hydroelectric plant
Can you name a single woman Renaissance master? Updated on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:08:29 IST By Gowri S Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link The bias in art history has marginalized women's contributions, leading to forgotten works. From forgotten Renaissance masters to overlooked abstract pioneers:
Mohan Bhagwat billboard appears in Times Square ahead of RSS chief’s New York eventVideos showed his image prominently displayed at the iconic Manhattan location ahead of the August 29 programme. Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:42:58 IST By HT News Desk Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link A
Techie who started career with TCS reveals ‘things that surprised’ him after joining MicrosoftThe techie talked about various perks offered to employees at Microsoft and how his outlook towards corporate world changed after joining the company. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026
A federal judge on Friday (August 28, 2026) ruled that laws that President Donald Trump’s administration used to cancel visas and initiate deportation proceedings against noncitizen college students based on their pro-Palestinian advocacy and criticism of Israel are unconstitutional
Sweating more doesn’t mean burning more fat: Fitness trainer busts common workout myths, reveals what actually works Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:13:43 IST By Akanksha Agnihotri Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Fitness trainer Chadoy Leon emphasises that soreness and sweat do not equate
Across the globe in Australia, a toddler with speech delays delighted her family with her first word - "orange" - after she and her twin sister received a free book in the post about colours. It came from Imagination Library, the literacy programme begun by late global superstar Dolly Parton
Congress leaders on Friday alleged that Penguin Random House India succumbed to pressure from the Union government with respect to former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love. Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot alleged that the publisher was under pressure
UN report on Israel targeting children in Gaza raises serious legal questions
A recent United Nations report has detailed serious allegations of Israel deliberately targeting Palestinian children during the conflict since October 2023.
The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, which has been rejected outright by the Israeli government, documents harrowing child deaths. It describes the scale of the deaths as “unprecedented”.
Legally, the report itself does not prosecute anyone, but it could have major consequences by adding to a growing record of international law evidence.
The commission is a standing investigative body created by the UN Human Rights Council in May 2021 after the escalation in Gaza and East Jerusalem that year.
Its mandate is unusually broad and ongoing. It’s tasked with investigating all alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, identifying root causes and preserving evidence for accountability.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 2023, the commission has published several reports on the conflict, including on the deaths of Israeli children.
This latest report is significant because it focuses specifically on children, examining the impact of Israeli military operations on Palestinian children between October 2023 and March 2026.
The report notes that the commission sent requests for information to the State of Palestine, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip and the Israeli government. The first two responded, but the latter did not.
The commission’s report makes four highly significant findings.
1. The scale of child deaths is unprecedented
The report finds more than 20,000 Palestinian children have been killed and more than 44,000 injured since October 2023.
The commission says the “overwhelming scale and rate of children killed and injured in Gaza have been unparalleled across modern conflicts globally”.
UNICEF describe the Gaza Strip as “the most dangerous place in the world to be a child”.
2. Evidence of deliberate targeting
This is the report’s most legally explosive finding. It documents repeated incidents of children being killed by single sniper or drone shots, often in the head or upper torso, suggesting deliberate targeting rather than incidental harm.
Cases such as Hind Rajab and other children shot while evacuating or sheltering are central examples.
Doctors on medical missions in Gaza reported to the commission that it appeared Israeli Defense Force soldiers were engaged in a “game” of target practice with “different body parts being targeted on different days”.
The commission concluded that based on forensic evidence and military analysis, there are reasonable grounds to believe some children were deliberately targeted.
3. Systematic attacks on child-essential infrastructure
The report documents attacks on hospitals, schools and orphanages, which enjoy special protection under international law. The commission found these attacks have directly contributed to preventable child deaths, long-term disability and educational collapse.
The commission’s findings raise serious questions about whether those special legal protections were respected, especially where attacks disrupted paediatric care, neonatal treatment and emergency surgery.
Schools have been destroyed in the conflict, including this one in May 2025. Jehad Alshrafi/AP
4. Arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence
The report documents patterns of child detention, ill-treatment and abuse in custody.
The commission noted that dehumanising rhetoric by political leaders, soldiers and public figures has normalised violence against Palestinian children and contributed to an environment where such harm becomes acceptable.
This report is important because it reframes the war not only through the lens of civilian casualties, but through special legal obligations owed to children.
International humanitarian law and international human rights law apply concurrently in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. This is because Israel retains effective control over its borders, airspace and territorial waters, and has re-established military control on the ground.
As an occupying power, Israel has specific obligations under the Fourth Geneva Convention. These include ensuring food, medical care and the protection of civilians, especially children.
Under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Israel must protect children’s rights to life, survival and development. It must prohibit arbitrary detention, torture and deprivation of life. It must also ensure the best interests of the child remain a primary consideration in all actions affecting them.
The commission’s conclusions are stark: children have not simply been caught in the crossfire of war. Many appear to have been deliberately targeted, denied essential care, detained, tortured, displaced and subjected to conditions that threaten their survival. It reframes the suffering of Palestinian children not as collateral damage alone, but as a possible site of serious international crimes.
Many of the acts documented in the report amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
If children were deliberately targeted, this would constitute a grave breach of the international humanitarian law principle to distinguish combatants from civilians.
The sheer scale of child deaths raises serious concerns about whether Israeli forces have been adhering to the proportionality analysis: if civilian harm is excessive compared with the concrete military advantage anticipated, the attack is unlawful.
Parties must take all feasible precautions to minimise civilian harm. The report argues Israel’s use of heavy explosive weapons in densely populated civilian areas indicates repeated failures of precaution.
In international law, accountability is often slow, but reports like this help build the legal architecture for future prosecutions.
The findings may feed directly into ongoing investigations by the International Criminal Court into alleged crimes in Palestine. The commission explicitly recommends further scrutiny by the court.
States could rely on this evidence in domestic prosecutions under universal jurisdiction. This allows domestic courts to hear cases alleging international crimes, regardless of where the crimes occurred, or the nationality of the victims or perpetrators.
States may also impose targeted sanctions or arms embargoes based on credible findings in UN reports documenting serious violations of international humanitarian law, even without a court ruling.
The findings could shape arguments in existing and future proceedings before the International Court of Justice, particularly around genocide and occupation.
Under international law, children are supposed to be the most protected people in war. The children of Gaza have not just suffered in the war, they have become one of its defining legal fault lines.
This article first appeared on The Conversation.
Source: Scroll
Related Posts: US Embassy in Saudi Arabia hit with Iranian drones as American and Israeli attacks on Iran escalate West Bengal Governor Submits Detailed Report On Durgapur Gangrape To President Delhi Court seeks detailed status report in Janakpuri biker death probe Iran's Khamenei says recent anti-government protests akin to Are we teaching enough of India’s recent past in our history classes Shardul Thakur reacts to Hardik Pandya’s absence from MI’s recent games Candidate lists OnlyFans as ‘recent experience’ for a director-level job role Selections driven equally by long-term planning and recent performances ISRO gets ready for one of its busiest times in recent memory Major tech outages in recent years
Liverpool have agreed a deal worth up to £123m for Paris St-Germain forward Bradley Barcola. PSG initially valued the France attacker at £145m, but the Reds have agreed a package worth an initial £106m with £17m in potential add-ons. The 23-year-old is expected to have a medical this weekend
1 days ago
AIMIM expels Telangana MLC Mirza Rahmath Baig; asks him to resign from postThe party has not officially disclosed the grounds for Baig’s expulsion. It is also not immediately known whether he was served any prior notice Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 13:59:53 IST By Srinivasa Rao Apparasu
1 days ago
Trends on social media have people in a chokehold. Whether it is a specific Starbucks drink, Labubus, pumpkin spice for autumn or flip-flops making a comeback, it is inevitable that people get carried away with these trends and want to jump on the bandwagon. However
1 days ago
Blaak lauds Savita-Bichoo camaraderie in women, flags post-Sreejesh goalkeeping gap in menBlaak lauds Savita-Bichoo camaraderie in women, flags post-Sreejesh goalkeeping gap in men Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 14:06:35 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Amstelveen
1 days ago
SC to hear plea seeking mandatory disclosure of ethanol content in petrol on Aug 31SC to hear plea seeking mandatory disclosure of ethanol content in petrol on Aug 31 Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:21:21 IST PTI Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link New Delhi
1 days ago
A group of passengers travelling in Delhi were surprised when a cab ride that had a base fare of Rs 1,285 ended with a bill of Rs 5,662. They had booked the car for six hours and expected to cover around 60 km during the trip. The passengers had used Ola to travel from a hotel in Mahipalpur to
1 days ago
A federal judge has ruled in favour of artificial intelligence company Anthropic in its legal battle against the Pentagon after the government labeled the company as a supply chain risk earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Rita Lin issued a written order Thursday night that the Pentagon acted
1 days ago
Bored of oats? Chef Kunal Kapur's soft moong dal idli with smoky roasted tomato chutney recipe is perfect for breakfast Updated on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:09:28 IST By Sanya Panwar Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Here's how to make chef Kunal Kapur's moong dal idli + roasted tomato chutney
1 days ago
King Harald V of Norway, who went into exile in the United States as a child during the Nazi occupation of his homeland and refused a string of European noblewomen to marry his school sweetheart, died on Friday (August 28, 2026). He was 89. The palace said he died at the National Hospital in Oslo
1 days ago
Suspected Pakistan drone spotted near LoC in Poonch; Jammu and Kashmir on high alertSecurity forces are searching nearby areas for any weapons, contraband or other material that the drone may have dropped, and to prevent further incursions. Published on: Aug 29, 2026
1 days ago
How Xi Jinping turned oil from a weakness into a geopolitical weaponChina’s crude reserves have given it huge power over the global oil market—and a critical new defense against the West. Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:00:55 IST WSJ Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link Before the U.S
1 days ago
Quota activist Manoj Jarange has launched an indefinite hunger strike demanding Maratha reservation. He accuses the Maharashtra Chief Minister of holding a grudge against the community. Jarange also called for the elimination of the caste verification committee
1 days ago
Over a decade has passed since India sought to reorient its grand strategic discourse from continental to maritime Asia and anchored its vision of international order in the Indian Ocean Region. In justifying this maritime turn within India’s national security discourse
1 days ago
Early on Wednesday, Sudipto Bhattacharya received what would be the last messages from his wife. She'd sent a picture of a departure stamp in her passport at 07:57 (02:27 GMT) - immigration at the Nepal border was done. Six minutes later, at 08:03, she wrote: we are waiting to enter China
1 days ago
Losing a corporate job can affect more than just a person’s income. For one 29-year-old man, months without work left him struggling with his daily routine and questioning his sense of purpose. After being fired in April, he received a nine-month severance package and had enough savings to manage
1 days ago
A U.S. federal judge blocked President Donald Trump's executive order on Thursday (August 27, 2026) curbing the use of mail-in ballots, the latest twist in a legal dispute months before November's midterm elections. Mr. Trump signed an order in March seeking to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the
1 days ago
How international supermarkets can break up a dinner rut without costing a fortune Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:20:18 IST AP Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link How international supermarkets can break up a dinner rut without costing a fortune How international supermarkets can break up a
1 days ago
Subhash Chandra case: Why banks lose money in personal guarantor claimsThe insolvency court’s approval of Zee Group founder Subhash Chandra's ₹6.5 crore repayment plan has raised questions about how much banks can recover. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026
1 days ago
The Parivartan scheme aims to phase out polluting commercial vehicles in Delhi-NCR. Over 25,000 registrations are expected by October under this initiative. Beneficiaries will receive various incentives for vehicle replacement. Fifteen major manufacturers have signed agreements for vehicle
1 days ago
A US judge on Friday awarded nearly $147 million in to plaintiffs' lawyers who won a $425 million jury verdict against Alphabet's Google in a last year, while denying the company's bid for an order rejecting the jury's verdict.Here are the details:US District in San Francisco granted the fee
1 days ago
A controversy broke out in Navi Mumbai’s Kharghar area after 3,400 special intensive revision forms were found at a private photocopy shop, The Indian Express reported on Friday. Five booth-level officers were suspended pending disciplinary action by the Raigad district collector after the matter
1 days ago
Following sharp criticism from the Supreme Court over prolonged regulatory delays, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed mandatory front-of-pack (FoP) warning labels for packaged foods containing excessive added sugar, saturated fat, and salt
1 days ago
From forced labour to living heritage: Sao Tome's colonial plantations Published on: Aug 29, 2026, 11:22:20 IST AFP Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link From forced labour to living heritage: Sao Tome's colonial plantations From forced labour to living heritage: Sao Tome's colonial plantations
1 days ago
‘ ₹5.93 lakh for two’: Indian couple’s detailed breakdown of 13-day New Zealand honeymoon tripThe couple shared that their initial estimate was ₹8 lakh, but with meticulous planning, they reduced their spending to less than ₹6 lakh. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026
1 days ago
Following Maharashtra’s lead, the state of Haryana has also tightened regulations on private coaching centres. One of the biggest rules that has been introduced is that school going students will not be allowed to attend coaching classes during school hours.Following Maharashtra’s lead
1 days ago
Bengaluru ‘Peptide Party’ cancelled: Founder breaks silence, says ‘our intent was… never harm’Upsurge Labs founder breaks silence after food regulator notice cancels Bengaluru ‘Peptide party’ following backlash. Updated on: Aug 29, 2026, 09:49:19 IST By Trisha Sengupta Prefer HTon
1 days ago
The festive season has begun in India, and one thing that is constant is Indians making or buying sweets to distribute among family and friends. However, the price of milk in some Indian states is set to rise come September 1. According to reports
1 days ago
