2 Palestinian children killed by Israeli army fire in West Bank

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Two Palestinian children were killed by Israeli army gunfire in two separate incidents on Friday in the occupied West Bank.

The first victim was 13-year-old Ayman Nassar al-Himouni, who was fatally shot in the southern West Bank city of Hebron.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that its teams transported the child, who died from injuries sustained by Israeli army fire in Hebron's Jabal Juhar neighborhood, to a local hospital.

Eyewitnesses told Anadolu that al-Haimouni was killed by Israeli forces' bullets, following clashes in the area.

Separately, 13-year-old Rimas Omar Amori was killed by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the northern West Bank.

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed her death, with witnesses saying she was shot and killed in front of her family's home while Israeli forces were stationed nearby.

For the second consecutive month, the Israeli military has been conducting operations in northern West Bank refugee camps, particularly in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas.

Earlier on Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu entered a Palestinian home in the Tulkarem refugee camp, just hours after a similar visit by his Defense Minister Israel Katz.

The official Israeli Broadcasting Authority published a photo of Netanyahu with several Israeli military officers inside a Palestinian home in Tulkarem.

Last month, the Israeli army launched a military offensive on the northern West Bank, which resulted in at least 60 fatalities and thousands of displacements.

Tension has been running high across the occupied West Bank, where at least 920 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 7,000 others injured in attacks by the Israeli army and illegal settlers since the start of the Gaza war on Oct. 7, 2023, according to the Health Ministry.

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.