On 27 December, 2008, Israel launched a wide-scale military offensive against the population and infrastructure of the Gaza Strip. Operation 'Cast Lead' lasted 23 days and was the biggest Israeli military offensive in the Gaza Strip in nearly 42 years of occupation. 1,414 Palestinians were killed, including 313 children.1 The evidence obtained by PCHR strongly indicates that the overwhelming majority of these victims were civilians.

This PCHR investigative report has been written in response to the unprecedented number of children who were killed by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) during the offensive on Gaza. Its aim is to investigate and document how and why so many children were killed, and to present urgent recommendations in order to protect the lives of children in Gaza. For the purposes of this report, and in accordance with international standards, PCHR uses the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) definition of a child as a boy or girl under the age of eighteen.

The report examines the pattern of IOF killings of Palestinian children in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the second intifada, in September 2000. It then focuses on PCHR's ongoing investigations into the deaths of the 313 children killed during the recent offensive. PCHR has gathered data and documentation, including testimonies from numerous eye-witnesses, which testify to the widespread targeting of unarmed civilians, including children, throughout the offensive. In addition, the report also explores the psychological impact of the offensive on children, and the alarming scale of physical injuries inflicted on children, some of whom were blinded, or had their limbs blown off or amputated, leaving them permanently disabled.

http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/Reports/English/pdf_spec/War%20Crimes%20Against%20Children%20Book.pdf