UN places Israel on blacklist for ‘harming children’ in Gaza war

Israel’s inclusion ‘list of shame’ marks the first time a democratic country is represented on the blacklist. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced his final decision to place Israel on a blacklist of countries that cause significant harm to children in conflict zones.

This list also includes ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and  Boko Haram.

Guterres informed IDF Defense Attaché in the U.S., Major General Hidai Zilberman, that “Israel defense forces” will appear on the blacklist published next week.

Although “Israel defense forces” will be listed rather than “Israel,” this will be the first time a democratic country is represented on the blacklist.

The list, which is updated annually, included Afghanistan, Colombia, Congo, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, and Syria, and the Russian armed forces along with terrorist groups Al-Qaeda, ISIS, Al-Shabaab, and Boko Haram in 2023.

Israeli officials who made a failed attempt to try to dissuade Guterres from including Israel on the list said, “The current secretary-general is anti-Israel and can no longer be influenced.”

They added, “Including Israel on the blacklist is highly problematic and could lead to countries imposing an arms embargo on Israel.”

In previous years, Israel was mentioned in a separate chapter, but this is the first time it is listed in a category entitled “Parties that have not taken sufficient steps to improve the protection of children.”

Israeli officials have argued that the report relies on Hamas Health Ministry numbers of civilian casualties, which are shown to have been inflated and often lists teenage Hamas terrorists as civilian children.

A draft received a few months ago accused Israel of bombing built-up areas, a blockade on Gaza, and destroying humanitarian infrastructure, such as UN facilities, schools, and hospitals.

However, the report failed to mention that the IDF had evacuated civilians from many of these areas, had increased humanitarian aid flow into Gaza recently, and that terrorists often are embedded in hospitals and schools in a clear violation of international law.

The draft also accused Israel of recruiting children as”informants” and said Israel’s military used minors to protect themselves.

Israel has responded that it is unaware of the IDF using minors as informants and requests that the allegation be removed unless proven.

However, the draft made no mention of the fact that Hamas has used children and hostages as human shields.