The BBC World Service has pieced together the stories of Layan al-Majdalawi, two, and Mira Tanboura, six, both killed in Gaza in separate incidents in November 2023, in areas where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was operating.
In response to our findings, the IDF said the details of Layan and Mira’s cases had been recorded and “will be examined by the competent authorities”. It added: “Intentional harm to civilians, especially children, is strictly prohibited.”
Layan and Mira are just two of more than 160 cases of children shot in the war in Gaza, for whom we have gathered accounts.
We found that in 95 of these cases, the child had been shot in the head or chest. In 59 of those, we obtained testimony from eyewitnesses, either directly or via human rights organisations and medics. The witnesses alleged that 57 of these children were shot by the IDF, and two were shot by Palestinians – one in celebratory gunfire and the other in a gang conflict.
For the remaining 36 out of the 95 cases, we have no account of what happened. Israel bans foreign reporters from entering Gaza independently, and the destruction and displacement make gathering details difficult.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has told the BBC the world cannot accept as a “new normal” the type of warfare that allows so many children to be shot.