The BBC World Service has added stories of six, two, two, two, and Meera Tanbaura together in separate incidents in November 2023, where the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) was working.
In response to our findings, the IDF stated that the details of the cases of Lean and Meera were recorded and “will be investigated by the competent authorities”. It states: “Citizens, especially children, are deliberately damaged, strictly prohibited.”
Lion and Meera Gaza have two out of more than 160 cases of children shot in war in Gaza, for which we have assembled accounts.
We found that in 95 of these cases, the child was shot in the head or chest. In 59 of them, we obtained testimony from eyewitnesses, either straight or through human rights organizations and medics. The witnesses alleged that 57 of these children were shot by the IDF, and two were shot by Palestinians – one in a celebrations and the other in a gang struggle.
For the remaining 36 of 95 cases, we have no account of what happened. Israel prevents foreign reporters from entering Gaza independently, and makes destruction and displacement collected details difficult.
The International Committee of Red Cross has told the BBC that the world cannot accept as a “new normal” that allows the type of war that allows many children to shoot.
