RAMALLAH, Palestine / ISTANBUL 

A Palestinian youth was shot dead by Israeli army forces in the northern West Bank on Monday evening, the official news agency Wafa reported.

According to the outlet, Israeli forces shot an 18-year-old man in the chest near a separation barrier near the city of Qalqilya.

The young man was transferred to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Israel has intensified military operations and settlement activity in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with Palestinians reporting killings, arrests, home demolitions, displacement and settlement expansion.

At least 1,114 Palestinians, including 230 children, have been killed and nearly 11,500 others injured in the Israeli escalation in the West Bank during that period, according to official figures.

*Writing by Rania Abushamala in Istanbul.