Ramallah, May 22, 2024—Israeli forces killed two Palestinian children yesterday during a military incursion into Jenin.
Mahmoud Amjad Ismail Hamadneh, 15, was shot and killed by Israeli forces around 8 a.m. on May 21 on a road near Jenin refugee camp located in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. An Israeli sniper targeted Mahmoud with several bullets and struck him in the head, chest, and foot. The child was transported by a Palestinian ambulance to Jenin Governmental Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Mahmoud was returning home from school on his electric bicycle, in the area behind Jenin Governmental Hospital and Al-Amal Hospital. Mahmoud was accompanied by his friend, Karam who was riding another electric bike, who was injured by a bullet in the shoulder and is receiving treatment in the hospital.
Osama Mohammad Naim Abdulatif Hujair, 15, was shot and killed by an Israeli sniper around 8:15 a.m. on the same day while he was riding a motorcycle in the Khallet Al-Souha neighborhood, close to Jenin Governmental Hospital, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Osama was struck by two bullets, one in the head and the other in the hand, and was transported by a Palestinian ambulance to Jenin Governmental Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
“Israeli forces routinely carry out massive military incursions into Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank and have repeatedly targeted young Palestinians in Jenin,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Mahmoud and Osama should have been in school today, and instead their families are grieving them. The United States must stop sending weapons to the Israeli military that are used to kill Palestinian children without restraint, whether in Gaza or Jenin.”
A large-scale Israeli military force entered Jenin on May 21 around 8 a.m and is ongoing. During the Israeli military incursion into Jenin, Israeli forces deployed across the city and Jenin refugee camp, seizing Palestinian homes to use as military bases and stationing snipers on the roofs of buildings. Many families were forced to flee outside the camp. The incursion has resulted in the killing of eight Palestinians, including two children, in addition to the injury of 23 Palestinians, three of whom were described as seriously injured, including a child.
Israeli forces besieged several hospitals in Jenin and impeded the movement of ambulances and paramedics. Israeli military bulldozers destroyed civilian infrastructure in Jenin refugee camp and several neighborhoods throughout the city. The damage caused electricity, water, and internet outages in parts of the camp, according to Wafa.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 43 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2024, including two United States citizens, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
124 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.
