Ramallah, June 24, 2024- A 12-year-old Palestinian boy succumbed to his wounds on June 22 after Israeli forces shot him on June 14 in the occupied West Bank.
Mohammad Morad Ahmad Hoshiyeh, 12, was shot by Israeli forces with live ammunition in the abdomen at 6:30 p.m. on June 14 near the street connecting Al-Amari refugee camp and Um Al-Sharayet neighborhood of Ramallah in the central occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Mohammad was on his way home after finishing football training in Ramallah.
Mohammad was shot by an Israeli soldier from inside a heavily armored military vehicle from a distance of between 70 to 90 meters (230 to 295 feet) away, and was transported by ambulance to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah. Mohammad succumbed to his wounds around 10 a.m. on June 22.
“Palestinian children live in a hyper-militarized context where Israeli military incursions into Palestinian communities to arrest and intimidate Palestinian civilians is the norm,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “During these incursions, Israeli forces routinely resort to intentional lethal force in situations not justified under international law and make no effort to impartially investigate or ensure that Israeli soldiers act in accordance with international standards. Instead, all Palestinians, including children, are considered targets.”
Israeli forces carried out an incursion into Al-Amari refugee camp around 6 p.m. on June 14, 2024 and withdrew from the camp around 9:10 p.m. on the same day. As a result, confrontations between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian residents ensued.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 54 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2024, including two United States citizens, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
135 Palestinian children have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7, according to documentation collected by DCIP, when the Israeli military began a full-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
In 2023, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 121 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 103 Palestinian children with live ammunition, 13 Palestinian children were killed in drone strikes, four Palestinian children were killed by missiles fired from a U.S.-sourced Apache attack helicopter, and one child was killed in an Israeli warplane airstrike.
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.
