The latest United Nations Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict which shows the number of children killed in conflict soared in 2025 with the increased use of high-tech explosive weapons driving the trend.
London, 18 June 2026 – The number of children killed in conflict soared to at least 6,266 in 2025, up about 34% from 2024, with the increased use of high-tech explosive weapons driving the trend, said Save the Children [1].
The latest United Nations Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict showed a record 24,174 children had their rights violated in conflict last year, the highest number since the protection of Children in Armed Conflict (CAAC) mandate was established 30 years ago [2]. These numbers represent the tip of the iceberg for grave violations against children, as most attacks on children go unverified, said Save the Children.
The number of children maimed in conflict rose by nearly 10% to 7,958 in 2025, continuing a steady trend of increasing child casualties in conflict since 2020 [3].
Many of these deaths and injuries are linked to unmanned aerial systems, drone-enabled and remotely operated attacks, and AI-supported target selection, all of which pose grave new risks to children’s lives and safety in conflict zones, said Save the Children. Once exclusive to advanced militaries, drones are now cheap, commercially available, and are being deployed covertly across borders, making them the small arms of this era.
Notably, for the first time since the establishment of the CAAC mandate, government forces were the main perpetrators of grave violations against children. Governments around the world are not only failing to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect children in conflict zones, they are doing so with near-total impunity, said Save the Children.
The highest numbers of grave violations were verified in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel (12,445), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4,114) and Nigeria (2,560).
According to the UN report, the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel saw the sharpest rise in violations verified in 2025, up over 45% from 2024 [2]. Of these, 9,465 violations were attributed to Israeli armed and security forces who were responsible for the highest number of verified violations globally in 2025. The violations perpetrated by the Israeli armed and security forces include 5,946 incidents of denial of humanitarian access, 2,760 cases of maiming, and 828 attacks on schools and hospitals.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, cases of children killed or maimed in conflict more than doubled from 438 in 2024 to 918 children in 2025 and cases of sexual violence nearly doubled from 358 to 592 children in 2025. This reflected a deteriorating security situation in a country battling multiple humanitarian crises.
Claire Sanford, Director of Conflict and Humanitarian at Save the Children UK, said:
"In recent decades, the nature of warfare has shifted dramatically, with children increasingly caught in the line of fire. Around the world, drone strikes are hitting places where children gather: playgrounds, schools, hospitals, maternity wards, markets, and displacement camps.
At a time when international laws and institutions designed to safeguard children are under unprecedented strain, global aid cuts are stripping away vital support and new technologies are putting children at greater risk of harm —it is more important than ever that the UK defends and champions the protective frameworks that remain.
With states responsible for much of this harm, it is for all states to act and stop the bloodshed of children.
The UK Government must uphold the rules that govern conflict. It should develop the UK's first ever strategy on Children and Armed Conflict and ensure dedicated UK expertise is protected in the ongoing Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office restructure."
ENDS
NOTES:
[1] According to the United Nations Annual Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict , killing and maiming increased from 11,967 children in the 2025 report to 14,224 in the 2026 report (+18.9%). The 2026 report singles out killing and maiming as having surged by 34% and 10% respectively, with harm linked to airstrikes, artillery, explosive remnants of war and explosive-armed drones.
[2] The six grave violations against children: the UN Security Council has identified six grave violations against children in situations of armed conflict: killing and maiming of children; recruitment or use of children in armed forces and groups; rape and other forms of sexual violence against children; abduction of children; attacks against schools and hospitals; and denial of humanitarian access to children.
[3] A 9.1% increase, from 7,291 in 2024 to 7,958 in 2025.
[4] In Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, there were 12,445 verified violations in 2025, up from 8,554 in 2024 (+45.5%).
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