Israel kills child, wounds youth as violence escalates in West Bank

By: Palestine Chronicle Staff

On Tuesday evening, 11-year-old Abdullah Jamal Hawash was killed by Israeli occupying army fire during a raid in Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank.

Israeli occupation forces continued their offensive in various towns in the occupied West Bank, killing an 11-year-old Palestinian boy in Nablus and wounding a young man in Hebron.

In the town of Khalhoul, north of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, a Palestinian youth was wounded by live bullets during Wednesday’s clashes with Israeli occupation forces, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.

Local sources who spoke to WAFA noted that there were violent clashes in Halhoul, during which Israeli occupation forces fired live bullets and sound bombs at Palestinians in the city, resulting in a young man being shot in the leg by live bullets.

Palestinian medical sources reported that the young man’s health was average.

On Tuesday evening, 11-year-old Abdullah Jamal Hawash was killed by Israeli occupying army fire during a raid in Nablus, in the northern occupied West Bank, Anadolu Agency reported.

It’s heartbreaking

11-year-old Abdullah Hawash was martyred after Zionist forces in Nablus shot him in cold blood for THROWING A STONE. pic.twitter.com/InIPA5QJuW

— Khalid Almaktari أبو عمرو (@KhalidMaktari2) October 22, 2024

A Palestinian boy is reported to have died from severe wounds he received as a result of gunfire during an Israeli raid on the city, Anadolu quoted a Palestinian health ministry statement as saying.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to Anadolu said that Israeli special forces in civilian clothes invaded the old city of Nablus.

“Special forces entered the Old City and arrested the young man, after which the occupying army sent military reinforcements to support the special forces,” witnesses told the news agency.

According to WAFA, Israeli occupation forces later left the city after detaining a young man from the Qaryun area in the old city of Nablus.

Attacks by Israeli occupying forces in the occupied West Bank have been accompanied by a number of attacks by illegal Jewish settlers, the latest of which occurred in the village of Yasuf, east of Salfit.

On Tuesday evening, illegal settlers caused a power outage in the village for the third time in a row by shooting at electrical transformers.

💔Anak Palestine berusia 11 tahun Abdullah Havash yan ditembak dan dibunuh ole pasukan Israel di Nablus, Tepi Barat.

Real war crimes in Israel🤬

Freedom for Palestine now❤️🇵🇸 pic.twitter.com/egtOuZljdL

— Cindy EK_real (@CindyEun54926) October 23, 2024

The head of the village council, Yasuf Wael Abu Madi, told WAFA that “a group of Israeli colonists from the illegal Tafuh colony, built on citizens’ lands, opened fire on an electrical transformer, which led to a complete blackout.”

“This is the third time that colonists have caused a power outage in the village, as they previously destroyed and burned the electrical room that powers the village, causing significant damage to the townspeople and shopkeepers,” Abu Madi added.

Moreover, the Israeli occupation forces prohibited crews and technicians from the village council from entering the site to repair the problem.

Settler violence

Since October last year, Israeli forces and settlers have carried out a total of 16,663 attacks in the occupied West Bank, resulting in 19 Palestinians killed at the hands of settlers, according to WAFA.

In addition, they caused fires at 275 Palestinian sites and fields: Nablus saw 120 incidents, followed by Ramallah with 42 and Jenin with 26, WAFA reported, citing the PLO Walls and Settlements Resistance Commission.

The Israeli offensive in the occupied West Bank since the Gaza genocide began last year has claimed 760 Palestinian lives, 18 of them women and 166 children, and more than 6,500 reported injuries, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

11-year-old boy “Abdullah Jamal Hawash” shot dead
Bullet in the chest
He is in my boys’ class and is now heading to his funeral.
Why do our children have to go through this?!#GazaHolocaust#Palestine pic.twitter.com/rxtfsmBMxF

— ℓαуαℓι Palestinian lives matter 🌷💜 (@ot7_jikook) October 22, 2024

New battlefield

Last September, Israeli media reported that Israel now considers the West Bank a battlefield after days of escalating operations.

In addition to the casualties, significant damage was caused to the infrastructure of cities such as Jenin, Tulkarm, Nablus and Tubas, among others.

The United Nations Refugee and Works Agency (UNRWA) said the first week of September was the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since November last year.

“Many people were killed, including seven children,” UNRWA reported on X, adding that “as the war rages in the Gaza Strip, violence and destruction in the West Bank are increasing by the hour.”

(PC, agencies)