A Teenager Killed, an Elderly Man Wounded
The Palestinian Health Ministry reported the death of a 17-year-old boy on Friday, succumbing to wounds from settler gunfire in the town of Sa’ir, northeast of Hebron, southern West Bank. The Palestinian news agency Wafa quoted local sources as saying that large groups of armed settlers stormed residents’ homes in the Khirbet Hamrush area and opened heavy live fire toward residents, wounding the teenager in the chest before his death was announced. A 70-year-old man was also wounded by live fire during the same attack, while settlers set fire to one of the homes, burning it down.
A Second Killing in Jenin Hours Earlier.
The killing came hours after a 58-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli forces at dawn Friday in the city of Jenin, northern West Bank. Local sources said Israeli forces raided the home of resident Fathi Khazem near the main roundabout in central Jenin, opened live fire on him, and prevented an ambulance from reaching him, leaving him to bleed to death before withdrawing with his body. According to the Palestinian Media Center, Khazem was a well-known figure in Jenin, with a name long associated with fighters in the city and its refugee camp, particularly after his son, Raed Khazem, was killed in April 2022 following an Israeli manhunt after he carried out a shooting attack in Tel Aviv.
The two killings add to a mounting toll of settler and military violence across the West Bank in recent weeks, coming just a day after Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey issued a joint statement condemning Israel’s escalating attacks in Gaza — underscoring how the surge in violence has extended well beyond the Strip to touch nearly every part of the occupied Palestinian territories.