Israeli forces killed a Palestinian teenager during a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported on Wednesday. This incident occurred hours after a 37-year-old man was shot dead near Ramallah in a separate operation.
Teenager killed in Hebron
The Red Crescent stated that a 14-year-old boy arrived at the Red Crescent Hospital in Hebron with a live-bullet wound to the abdomen and was pronounced dead. The organization clarified that the wound was caused by Israeli army bullets. Another individual was wounded in the thigh during the same raid. The Israeli military said it is investigating the incident.
However, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah identified the deceased as Abdel Fattah Al-Khayyat, aged 16, not 14 as initially reported.
Man killed near Ramallah
Earlier, the health ministry confirmed the death of 37-year-old Abdel Halim Hammad during a raid in Silwad, east of Ramallah. The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Hammad was killed inside his home when soldiers raided it at night. Wafa added that Hammad's brother, Mohammad Hammad, was also killed by Israeli forces in 2021, and his body remains held by Israeli authorities.
The Israeli military stated that during the raid, two terrorists attacked two IDF soldiers, who were injured and evacuated for medical treatment. The soldiers responded by opening fire, killing one terrorist and neutralizing and apprehending the other.
Escalating violence
Violence in the Palestinian territory has surged since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,068 Palestinians in the West Bank since then, including many militants but also numerous civilians. Official Israeli figures report at least 46 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.
