Statement Condemning the UN’s Bias and Silence in the Face of Genocide in Gaza

The undersigned groups, organizations and individuals strongly condemn the United Nations statements issued on October 7, foremost among them the statement by the Secretary-General and the statement by UNICEF published on their official platforms, for the false information they contain and their complete disregard for the suffering of the Palestinian people, especially women and children in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The United Nations and its agencies used colonial and biased language in their statements, focusing on the narrative of the Zionist occupation and ignoring the crimes and grave violations committed against the Palestinian people, especially in light of the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Its language focused on statements and facts of dubious accuracy issued by the occupation, confirming its clear bias towards Zionist criminality, while its statements on Gaza were timid.
While the Secretary-General estimates Israeli casualties at 1,250 and 250 people still in captivity, and while the various parties have failed to provide evidence to support the occupation's claims and UNICEF has failed to provide any reliable information or accurate figures on the number of “abducted” children, the statements and declarations completely ignored the following irrefutable facts:
- More than 16,500 Palestinian children have been killed as a result of the bombing and ongoing genocide of Gaza, according to data from the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
- More than 650,000 children have been denied their right to education, according to United Nations reports.
- More than 450 Palestinian children were arrested in 2025 alone, according to the Palestinian National Information Center.
- The number of orphaned children in Gaza has reached 39,384 since the start of Gaza’s genocide, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Among them are about 17,000 children who have lost both parents.
- According to UNRWA – which has been accused of terrorism by some Western governments, led by the US – an estimated 4,000 children have lost one or more limbs and undergone amputation.
- According to the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, 324 governmental schools and universities and 65 UNRWA schools and universities have been bombed and vandalized.
- The Commissioner-General of UNRWA announced that the number of children killed in Gaza since last October exceeds the number killed in all the wars around the world over the past four years combined.
- During two years of continuous annihilation, Israel destroyed the health sector in Gaza by putting most of its hospitals and major facilities out of service through deliberate bombing, targeting doctors, health workers, and civil defense crews with bombing and killing, and kidnapping doctors, one of whom was raped to death in kidnapping and torture camps.
- The occupation also did not hesitate to impose a suffocating and continuous siege for two years, which cut off all means of life for the civilian population, completely preventing the entry of basic humanitarian aid, including food, medicine, and fuel. This cruel and systematic measure spared no one, but it left its most vicious mark on innocent children, who became the primary target of a deliberate and systematic policy of starvation throughout this long period. These practices have exacerbated a humanitarian disaster, with entire generations suffering from severe malnutrition and diseases resulting from lack of care, threatening their future and their right to life and normal development. Amidst the systematic starvation caused by the prevention of humanitarian aid, Israel has killed 459 people through starvation.
- Israel is holding more than 10,000 Palestinian hostages in its prisons and detention centers, and the international community and Secretary-General António Guterres must take them into account when calling for “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
- Israel's genocide of Palestinians continues everywhere, with widespread destruction and evacuation orders for camps in the West Bank, and demolition and evacuation orders for families in various neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
- We recall that the International Court of Justice is considering the case brought by South Africa against the entity for committing genocide, and that the highest international judicial body has issued a ruling declaring the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories illegal and that measures must be taken to end it.
The Palestinian people's resistance to occupation is a legitimate right guaranteed by all international conventions, including the Charter of the United Nations, General Assembly resolutions, and the principles of international humanitarian law. This resistance did not begin on October 7, but is an extension of the struggle of a people under occupation since 1948 against the policies of settlement, displacement, and collective punishment systematically and continuously practiced by the Zionist occupation forces.
The discourse issued today by the United Nations, with the majority of its institutions, not only ignores the humanitarian tragedy in Palestine, but also contributes to the reproduction of colonial narratives that criminalize the victims and exonerate the perpetrators, and makes veiled accusations against defenders of the rights of the Palestinian people, claiming that they “ignore” violations against children or women. This approach is consistent with repeated attempts by some Western governments and UN institutions to silence voices supporting Palestine, falsely labeling them as “anti-Semitic” or “supporting terrorism.”
We believe in the right of children to a safe life and emphasize that there is no comparison to the systematic killing and deliberate starvation suffered by the children of Gaza. We reject selectivity and politicization in addressing issues of childhood, armed conflict, and human rights. We emphasize that justice is indivisible and that the protection of Palestinian children is a legal and moral duty of all international institutions, foremost among them UNICEF.
The United Nations system, particularly its humanitarian agencies, have lost much of their credibility and effectiveness as a result of its continued tolerance of war crimes and occupation. We affirm that any genuine reform of this system must begin with a comprehensive review of its structure and working mechanisms to ensure that it is fully aligned with the rights of peoples, not colonial regimes.
We therefore demand:
- Immediate correction of United Nations statements and clarification of the facts regarding crimes committed against Palestinian men, women, and children.
- An independent and transparent investigation into the standards for preparing data and reports within the United Nations to ensure impartiality and professionalism.
- Holding accountable those responsible for promoting narratives or information that serve the occupation's agenda at the expense of truth and human rights.
Solidarity with Palestine and its children, women, and men is not only a political position, but a humanitarian and moral duty that cannot be delayed or silenced.