UN puts Israel on blacklist for perpetrating violence against Gaza children

The United Nations has decided to include Israel in the blacklist of countries and organisations that harm children in conflict zones.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has added Israel's military to a global list of offenders who have committed violations against children, Israel's UN envoy Gilad Erdan said.

Erdan said he was officially notified of the decision on Friday. The global list is included in an annual "Children and Armed Conflict" report on children and armed conflict due to be submitted to the UN Security Council.

Guterres also informed the Israeli army's attache of the decision, according to Israeli media.

Despite Israel's efforts to persuade Guterres to reconsider, the decision stands, with Israel slated to appear on the blacklist set to be published this month.

Failure to shield children

Israel's UN envoy on Friday said he was "disgusted" that the Israeli army is to be included on an upcoming United Nations list of countries and armed forces that fail to protect children during war.

Erdan's comments came after receiving notification of Israel's inclusion on the list of countries that do not take adequate measures to shield children from conflict.

Last year, Russia's military and armed entities linked to Russia were included on the list.

Rights groups have long pushed for Israel's inclusion and in 2022, the United Nations issued a warning that Israel would need to show improvements in order not to be added.

Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 36,731 Palestinians 71 percent of them being women, children and infants.