Ramallah, October 20, 2025 - On October 16, 2025, Israeli forces shot and killed nine-year-old Mohammad Bahjat Mohammad Hallaq in the southern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine.
On October 16, around 5:00 p.m., Mohammad was playing football along with several other young boys in the center of the village of Al-Rihiya, south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank. Two Israeli military jeeps entered the village, after which four Israeli soldiers exited the vehicles, spread out along the street, and began firing tear gas canisters and live bullets randomly and directly at the children. As Mohammad and the other children fled westward, one soldier took a kneeling position and fired a single live bullet that struck Mohammad. An older boy managed to pull Mohammad away and carry the injured Mohammad to his uncle’s house nearby. Mohammad was then taken in a private vehicle to Abu Al-Hasan Al-Qasim Hospital in Yatta, where he was later pronounced dead around 6:00 p.m.
“Palestinian children do not live in safety,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Even when enjoying sport as any child would, they are at constant risk of being directly and arbitrarily targeted by Israeli soldiers. The lives of Palestinian children, like Mohammad, can be cut short at any moment by Israeli forces, who carry out extrajudicial killings with blatant impunity.”
As soon as the military vehicles arrived, the children fled westward between nearby houses to escape the soldiers. Mohammad was shot while standing on the roadside overlooking the soldiers’ position, near his uncle’s house, about 200 meters away from where the soldiers were stationed. He was shot in the right side of his pelvis, after which the bullet exited from his left side. Mohammad was able to take a few steps before falling to the ground when an additional tear gas canister was fired in his vicinity. A 17-year-old child came to carry Mohammad away when the soldiers fired two additional live bullets at them both. The boy managed to take Mohammad to his Uncle’s home, where he was then driven to the southern side of the village, fearing that soldiers might stop the car during transport.
After arriving at the Al-Fawwar refugee camp, south of Hebron, Mohammad was transferred to another vehicle and taken to Abu Al-Hasan Al-Qassem Hospital in Yatta. Upon arrival at the emergency department, doctors attempted to resuscitate his heart twice. Despite continuous efforts, the medical team was unable to save Mohammad.
Israeli forces have killed 41 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP. These extrajudicial killings are in contravention of the most fundamental laws governing international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and have occurred without legal recourse or remedy from Israel. Yet, Israeli forces continue to enjoy complete impunity for these actions and retain access to continue their blatant and arbitrary killing of Palestinian children without fear of consequence or international intervention.
