Ramallah, October 9, 2023—Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinian boys in separate incidents over the past 24 hours in the occupied West Bank.
Yousef Nader Suleiman Idris, 16, was shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces around 7 p.m. on October 8 during confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinian youth in the occupied Palestinian city of Hebron, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Yousef was around 150 meters (492 feet) away from Israeli soldiers in the Wadi al-Nasara area near the illegal Jewish-only settlement of Kiryat Arba when Israeli forces fired heavily at a group of stone-throwing Palestinian youth. He sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was transported by car to Mohammad Ali Al-Muhtasib Hospital. Yousef was resuscitated and transferred to Al-Ahli Hospital in Hebron where he was later pronounced dead at 9:30 p.m.
Imad Jareh Majed Adaily, 16, was shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces around 11:30 p.m. on October 8 during confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinian youth in the occupied Palestinian town of Beita, located southeast of Nablus, according to documentation by DCIP. Palestinian youth from Beita confronted Israeli forces on the main street opposite the vegetable market. Israeli forces fired live ammunition from about 100 meters (330 feet) away, striking Imad in his left upper chest area between his neck and chest. He laid on the ground bleeding profusely for several minutes before he was taken by ambulance to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus where he was pronounced dead.
Yaser Thaer Sami Kasba, 17, was shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces around 9 p.m. on October 8 near the Israeli military-controlled Qalandia checkpoint located between Jerusalem and Ramallah, according to documentation by DCIP. Yaser threw a Molotov cocktail toward a military observation tower and then fled, according to news media video. Israeli forces targeted him from a distance of 100 meters (330 feet), shooting him in the back. Yaser was transferred in a private car to an ambulance that transported him to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. He was pronounced dead around 9:40 p.m.
Israeli forces killed 17-year-old Adam Amjad Fathi Al-Julani with live ammunition around 4 a.m. as confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinian youth at Qalandia checkpoint continued into the early morning on October 9, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Following exchanges of gunfire, Adam and other Palestinian youth threw stones toward the checkpoint and Israeli forces indiscriminately fired live ammunition at the group. Adam sustained a gunshot wound to the front of his head, killing him instantly. He was transported to the Palestine Medical Complex by ambulance where he was pronounced dead.
“Palestinian children live in a hyper-militarized context where Israeli soldiers regularly target Palestinian children at protests with live ammunition,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Israeli forces have increasingly targeted Palestinian children at demonstrations with live ammunition despite the overwhelming majority of Palestinian children posing no threat to Israeli forces when they were killed.”
On October 7, Ahmad Abdulnaser Adnan Rabi, 12, was shot with live ammunition by Israeli forces around 7 p.m. near the Israeli-controlled Eyal crossing near the occupied Palestinian city of Qalqilya, DCIP previously reported.
Yaser Kasba was named after his 11-year-old uncle, Yaser Kasba, who was shot in the head by Israeli forces on December 8, 2001 from a distance of only 1.5 meters (5 feet) during clashes with armed Israeli forces near Qalandia refugee camp. Despite medical attempts to save Yaser’s life, he succumbed to his wounds nine days later, according to medical reports gathered by DCIP. Less than two months later, on January 18, 2002, Israeli forces killed Yaser’s brother, 15-year-old Samer Kasba. Then, in 2015, Yaser and Samer’s brother, Mohammad Sami Ali Kasba, was shot dead by then Israeli brigade commander, Col. Yisrael Shomer.
Throughout the occupied West Bank, Palestinians organized marches and demonstrations over the weekend in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after Palestinian armed groups fired rockets toward Israel and breached the Israeli perimeter fence surrounding Gaza early on October 7, launching attacks inside Israel. Israeli forces initiated a large-scale military operation dubbed Operation Iron Swords.
At least 91 Palestinian children have been killed in the Gaza Strip between October 7–9, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
DCIP has confirmed the killing of at least 50 Palestinian children in direct Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip between October 7 and 9. DCIP continues to document and confirm Palestinian child fatalities in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Israeli authorities have imposed a closure policy against the Gaza Strip since 2007 by strictly controlling and limiting the entry and exit of individuals; maintaining harsh restrictions on imports including food, construction materials, fuel, and other essential items; as well as prohibiting exports. Israel continues to maintain complete control over the Gaza Strip’s borders, airspace, and territorial waters.
Israeli forces and settlers have shot and killed at least 44 Palestinian children and killed one Palestinian child with a targeted drone strike in the occupied West Bank.
Under international law, intentional lethal force is only justified in circumstances where a direct threat to life or of serious injury is present. However, investigations and evidence collected by DCIP regularly suggest that Israeli forces use lethal force against Palestinian children in circumstances that may amount to extrajudicial or wilful killings.
International humanitarian law prohibits indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks and requires all parties to an armed conflict to distinguish between military targets, civilians, and civilian objects.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 3,752 Palestinian civilians since 2008 throughout the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Since 2000, Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 2,300 Palestinian children as of October 9, 2023, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
