CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article stated that four teenagers including three minors had been shot and killed; Mahmoud Al-Sous was in fact 17 years old and a minor himself. Ahmad Daraghmeh was also 17, not 16.
Jerusalem24 – Israeli forces have shot and killed four Palestinian children in various military raids across the occupied West Bank in the past 24 hours.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health named the victims as 14-year-old Adel Ibrahim Adel Daoud, 17-year-old Mahdi Mohammad Abulmuti Ladadwa, 17-year-old Ahmad Mohammad Hussein Daraghmeh, and 17-year-old Mahmoud Muayyad Al-Sous.
14-year-old Adel was shot in the head with live ammunition by Israeli forces around 3pm on Friday afternoon near the Israeli separation wall south of Qalqilya, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P). He was hospitalized and pronounced dead around 7pm.
17-year-old Mahdi was shot in the pelvis with live ammunition around 5.30pm on Friday afternoon in the village of Al-Mazra Al-Gharbieh to the north of Ramallah. According to DCI-P, Israeli settlers under the protection of Israeli forces attacked Palestinian residents in the village earlier that afternoon. When Palestinian youth confronted the settlers, Israeli forces began shooting live ammunition, injuring Mahdi.
A video widely circulated on social media, and reviewed by Jerusalem24, shows Israeli forces assaulting the ambulance crew and other Palestinians as they try to evacuate the visibly injured Mahdi, conscious and lying on a gurney. Mahdi arrived Al-Istishari Hospital in Ramallah in critical condition. He was pronounced dead around 7.15pm.
17-year-old Mahmoud was shot in the neck and right thigh with live ammunition during a large-scale Israeli military raid on the city of Jenin which began shortly before 9am on Saturday morning, and during which another 11 Palestinians were injured, three of them critically. Both bullets struck Mahmoud from behind, according to a medical report. Mahmoud arrived at Ibn Sina Hospital in Jenin around 10am in critical condition. He was pronounced dead a few minutes afterwards.
17-year-old Ahmad was shot in the head during the same military raid on Jenin. The Ministry of Health announced a critical injury had reached Ibn Sina Hospital at 10.54am. Ahmad’s death was announced at 11am.
According to Israeli media, one Israeli soldier was injured by shrapnel during the raid. Helicopters were photographed at the scene by Palestinians who shared the pictures on social media.
Journalists targeted by Israeli fire
For the second time this week, Palestinian journalists have come under direct and targeted Israeli fire while covering Israeli raids in the West Bank.
Palestine TV reported journalists coming under direct Israeli fire around 10.30am while covering the military raid on Jenin.
Last Wednesday, another Palestine TV reporter as well as a freelance journalist were shot and injured by Israeli snipers while covering a siege on a house in Deir Al-Hattab near Nablus, during which Israeli forces shot and killed 21-year-old Alaa Nasser Ahmed Zaghal.
Press footage of the siege on the house in Deir Al-Hattab shows Palestinian journalists positioned on the roof of a nearby house coming under repeated Israeli sniper fire. Journalists Mahmoud Fawzi and Louay Al-Samhan were both shot in the shoulder and evacuated for treatment.
Israeli forces have now shot and killed a total of 104 Palestinians in the West Bank this year, including 27 children, in addition to 7-year-old Rayyan Suliman who died after Israeli soldiers gave pursuit to schoolchildren in the village of Taqu’ near Bethlehem on 29 September.
