Ramallah, February 27, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy yesterday near the northern checkpoint of Qalqilya in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
Hamed Mohammad Fadel Nazzal was near the Qalqilya checkpoint with a small group of boys around 3:30 p.m. on February 26 where he was killed shortly after, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Eyewitnesses reported no visible presence of Israeli soldiers or military vehicles outside the checkpoint at the time. At approximately 3:45 PM, the sound of four to six gunshots was heard in the area. Minutes later, the Palestinian Red Crescent Society received a report of a child shot near the checkpoint. When paramedics arrived, they found Hamed lying in a pool of blood with no vital signs, surrounded by 30 to 40 Israeli soldiers. Hamed sustained a gunshot wound to the upper right shoulder from behind, lodging in his neck, causing a fractured vertebra, severe damage to his jaw, and internal bleeding. The paramedics attempted to revive Hamed but found no response to these efforts. He was transferred to Darwish Nazzal Hospital in Qalqilya, where he was pronounced dead at 4:18 p.m.
“Israeli forces continue to kill Palestinian children with impunity, using live ammunition in situations where they pose no threat,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Hamed’s killing is yet another example of the Israeli military’s shoot-to-kill policy, where soldiers face no consequences for the unlawful killing of Palestinian children.”
Hamed’s killing is part of a broader pattern of Israel’s escalating use of unlawful lethal force against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Evidence collected by DCIP consistently shows that Israeli forces regularly kill Palestinian children in situations that amount to extrajudicial or willful killings, further entrenching Israel’s culture of impunity. Israeli forces routinely carry out raids with excessive and reckless force, often targeting children with live ammunition, obstructing medical aid, and carrying out indiscriminate shootings with complete impunity. Under international law, civilians are entitled to protection from excessive and arbitrary violence, yet Israeli authorities continue to disregard these protections, furthering its system of systematic oppression and domination over Palestinians.
Israeli forces have killed 17 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Eight children were killed by Israeli drone strikes, eight children were shot and killed with live ammunition, and one child with unknown nature of injury.
In 2024, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 93 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 71 Palestinian children with live ammunition, 17 Palestinian children were killed in drone strikes, three Palestinian children were killed in an Israeli warplane airstrike, one child was killed by Israeli-fired ground shell, and one child was killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind by Israeli forces.
