"Serious concerns arose regarding excessive use of force, particularly in relation to incidents where Palestinian children were shot dead by Israeli security forces after carrying out or being suspected of carrying out stabbing attacks," the UN children's agency said on Saturday, AFP reported.
The report says more than 1,300 Palestinian children were injured during the spike in attacks, almost all in the West Bank and East Jerusalem (East al-Quds), while three Israeli children were hurt in the West Bank and West Jerusalem.
UNICEF also voiced alarm over the number of Palestinian children aged between 12 and 17 held by the Israeli army, noting the tally stood at 422 at the end of December, according to the Israeli prison service, the highest recorded since March 2009.
Israeli law allows Palestinian children from the age of 12 to be put on trial.
Since the October outbreak of a wave of unrest, 204 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed.