Okay this is actually something concrete to talk about. This is from the UN Human Rights Committee
The Committee takes note of the efforts made by the State party to prevent children from being used or recruited by illegal armed groups and to separate those who have been recruited from those groups and offer them assistance and protection. It is concerned, however, at reports of the continued use and recruitment of children by illegal armed groups, including, in particular, the use and recruitment of indigenous and Afro-Colombian children, and by illegal armed groups that formed in the wake of the demobilization of paramilitary organizations. The Committee takes note of the State party’s statement that, in accordance with the laws in force, security forces do not engage in intelligence activities or military civic acts that involve children. It is concerned, however, by reports of cases in which members of the security forces allegedly involved children in such activities during the reporting period (art. 24).
Has Israel made any efforts, at all, to prevent children from being used or recruited in this conflict? I don't think they have, aside from blowing them away once they have been recruited (if they are even differentiating between combatants and civilians - I doubt it).
The State party should continue and step up its efforts to prevent the use and recruitment of children by illegal armed groups; to ensure that, in accordance with the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, all children who have been used or recruited by such groups are treated as victims, regardless of which armed group they have been separated from; to ensure that all children separated from such groups receive protection and proper care with a view to their physical and psychological recovery and to the restoration of their rights; and to ensure that the responsible parties stand trial and are punished. The State party should also adopt effective measures to ensure that, in actual practice, children are not involved in intelligence work or in military civic activities.
Israel has certainly never made any efforts to separate children from Hamas and protect them from recruitment. Israel neither has ever made any efforts to rehabilitate or re-socialize child soldiers that it has captured, and it rarely bothers with capturing them alive.
It is unclear if children are to be considered victims before separation, so point to you. Under a strictly textualist interpretation, international law doesn't protect active child soldiers. That is not the only way to interpret law; I'd argue we should look at the purpose of the law i.e. to protect children from war, so every effort should be made to avoid killing children except when absolutely necessary.
But that's for the ICJ and ICC to decide, not lemmings. So! Point to you, child soldiers that die on the battle field could be counted as combatants. I disagree and don't think that's the end of it, but I can see that as a valid interpretation of humanitarian law.
But! Once they're dying in the hospital it's pretty clear to me that they have been separated from Hamas, at which point they must be considered victims. Victims that Israel is blockading from food, fuel, medicine, sanitation, habitation, and humanitarian assistance.
I'm also highly skeptical that Israel really is targeting militants and I'm done giving them the benefit of the doubt. You understand, right?