Two Palestinians killed by Israeli army gunfire in occupied West Bank

Two Palestinians were killed on Tuesday by Israeli army gunfire in the occupied West Bank, as announced by the Palestinian Ministry of Health. 

The Health Ministry confirmed in a statement, "The child Amr Ahmed Wahdan (14 years old) was martyred, succumbing to critical injuries inflicted by Israeli occupation live bullets in Tubas." 

Earlier, the ministry had announced, "The boy Malik Daghra (17 years old) was martyred after being hit by four bullets fired by the occupation army in Kafr Ain, northwest of Ramallah." 

Residents of the area informed AFP that Wahdan was from the village of Tayasir, east of Tubas, and was shot in the chest. 

They indicated that clashes between youth and the Israeli army began initially in the city of Tubas. When the army withdrew from the town towards one of its camps near the Palestinian village, youth threw stones at the Israeli forces, who responded with live ammunition, leading to the injury of the boy Wahdan. 

In the village of Kafr Ain, northwest of Ramallah, Israeli forces raided the village early Tuesday to carry out an arrest operation, triggering clashes between the youth and the army. This resulted in the injury of the boy Daghra with four bullets to the chest, and he died as a result, according to residents who spoke to AFP. 

These events in the West Bank come as the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which erupted on October 7th, continues into its fifth consecutive day of truce.  

The truce began on Friday after Qatari mediation supported by Egypt and the United States, allowing the release of 50 hostages held in Gaza and 150 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Additionally, 19 other hostages, mostly foreign workers, were released outside the framework of the agreement. 

The Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank were released near the "Ofer" detention center near the town of Beitunia west of Ramallah, which witnessed the killing of a Palestinian during clashes that erupted simultaneously with the reception of the fourth batch of released detainees. 

The Palestinian Ministry of Health announced, "The arrival of a martyr to the Palestinian Medical Complex from the town of Beitunia," without providing details. Several consistent sources confirmed that the young man was named Yassin al-Asmar (26 years old) from Beitunia, and his funeral was held on Tuesday afternoon. 

Clashes erupted after the closure of the main road leading to the Ofer camp to prevent the army from entering the town of Beitunia to keep the recipients away from the camp entrance. 

With the killing of the three Palestinians, the number of those killed by Israeli army gunfire in the West Bank since October 7th has risen to over 235 Palestinians, in addition to about 3,000 injuries, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. 

On October 7th, the Islamic movement Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israeli settlements adjacent to the Gaza Strip, resulting in the death of 1,200 people according to Israeli authorities. 

Israel responded to the attack with intense bombardment of the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of approximately 15,000 people, including more than 6,000 children, according to the Hamas government. 

AFP