Justice Srinivasan Muralidhar, chair of the U.N. Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, said the panel concluded that Israeli forces “intentionally killed” Palestinian children in Gaza if the presence of Israeli soldiers was confirmed in the area.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Muralidhar referenced the commission’s controversial report released last month that intended to show Israel deliberately targeted children in its war against Hamas.
The U.N. official described the panel’s methodology, saying investigators used “forensic tools, geolocation and chrono-location to confirm the presence of Israeli soldiers” at scenes where multiple Gazan children were killed by gunfire.
Muralidhar did not explain what constituted a confirmed Israeli military “presence” or address whether investigators considered alternative explanations, such as crossfire or Hamas’s documented use of civilians as human shields. The report itself does not appear to examine alternative theories for those deaths beyond alleged Israeli responsibility.
According to Muralidhar, the commission identified two alleged methods by which Israeli forces intentionally targeted children. The first, he said, involved repeated airstrikes in densely populated areas, which the commission argued demonstrated intent because Israeli authorities knew children would be killed even if the stated targets were Hamas operatives.
The second, he said, involved quadcopters, drones and snipers. Muralidhar cited a case described in the report alleging that an Israel Defense Force quadcopter equipped with thermal imaging and a sniper capability fatally shot a 10-day-old infant through the roof of a tent.
The commission’s report attributes the shooting to Israeli forces based on its analysis of images of the bullet, but does not provide independent forensic evidence establishing that the incident occurred as described or that an Israeli sniper-mounted quadcopter was responsible.
Muralidhar also cited statements by Knesset Deputy Speaker Nissim Vaturi as evidence the commission considered indicative of Israeli intent. Days after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks on Oct. 7, 2023, Vaturi wrote comments that included, “Gaza is full of terrorists and every child born there is already a terrorist, from the moment of his birth.”
While deputy Knesset speakers hold parliamentary leadership positions, they do not direct Israeli government or military policy.
The commission, established by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2021 with an unlimited, perpetual mandate, stated in September that Israel had committed “genocide” and “war crimes” in the Gaza Strip.
