Israeli forces have shot dead a 14-year-old Palestinian boy during a military operation in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian officials. Moataz Daghlas was killed on Monday evening in the village of Burqa, located north-west of Nablus, the Palestinian health ministry stated.
Military and Medical Accounts
The Israeli military stated that soldiers identified several terrorists who intended to hurl stones in an area where stones had previously been thrown at Israeli vehicles. Soldiers fired towards the individuals to remove the threat, the military added.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that its teams treated two people for gunshot wounds during the raid. The organization stated that Israeli forces blocked medical access to a third wounded person and detained three volunteer paramedics.
Relatives of Moataz Daghlas said that Israeli authorities were withholding his body. Meanwhile, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the two other wounded Palestinians were a 17-year-old child shot in the abdomen and pelvis, and a 19-year-old man shot in the hand.
Casualties and International Findings
According to the United Nations, at least 98 Palestinians, including 22 children, have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the beginning of the year. Over the same period, six Israelis, including both security forces and civilians, have been killed by Palestinians in the territory.
Reports indicate that the rules of engagement for Israeli forces were broadened following the deadly Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, granting soldiers increased discretion to use lethal force against perceived threats.
In June, the UN Human Rights Office in the occupied Palestinian territory reported verifying the killing of 241 Palestinian children by Israeli security forces and settlers in the West Bank since the October 2023 attacks. Most of the victims were teenage boys, and Israeli authorities frequently cited stone-throwing as justification for the actions.
The UN office concluded that none of the children killed during confrontations with Israeli forces had posed an imminent threat to life, which international law specifies as the only legal justification for using lethal force in the West Bank.
