RAMALLAH, Palestine/ISTANBUL

Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians and wounded several others late Wednesday in the town of Al-Khader south of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank, according to state-run media.

Palestine TV reported that “two people were killed and others injured after occupation forces opened fire on youths.”

It added that the Israeli army is withholding the bodies and detaining others it shot.

Earlier, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA said that Israeli forces opened fire near the Al-Abbara area in the western part of the town, injuring a number of people. The extent of the injuries was not yet known.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said its teams were prevented from reaching the wounded.

“The army is stopping our crews from providing medical assistance to the injured in Al-Khader,” the group said in a statement.

Since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 7,000 injured in the occupied territory by Israeli forces and illegal settlers, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion last July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.