Ramallah, March 21, 2024—Israeli forces killed two Palestinian boys in the last 24 hours in the occupied West Bank.
17-year-old Iyad Nidal Azmi Kanouh and Abdullah Mahmoud Mohammad Qaisi were killed early this morning by Israeli forces during an Israeli military incursion into Nour Shams Refugee Camp near Tulkarem in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine.
Iyad Nidal Azmi Kanouh, 17, was targeted by an Israeli drone-fired missile around 11:30 p.m. on March 20 in Nour Shams refugee camp, alongside another Palestinian man, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Iyad was allegedly participating in confrontations with the Israeli forces. Israeli forces deliberately delayed a Palestinian ambulance’s access to Iyad and the other injured man for more than two and a half hours. As the ambulance finally reached the injured, Iyad was still alive, while the other man was showing no vital signs. The ambulance transported them to Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital in Tulkarem, where doctors made efforts to resuscitate Iyad, but he was pronounced dead around 2:30 a.m. on March 21.
“Israeli forces have already killed 32 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank and hundreds of children in the Gaza Strip this year,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Israeli forces’ nonstop brutality is facilitated by Western countries, especially the United States, which continue offering the Israeli government unconditional support and sending weapons to the Israeli military which are used to kill Palestinian children without consequence.”
Abdullah Mahmoud Mohammad Qaisi, 17, was also killed early this morning at around 4 a.m on March 21, when Israeli forces shot him in the head in Nour Shams refugee camp, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Abdullah was shot in the head from a distance of about 50 to 60 meters (164 to197 feet) as he was allegedly participating in confrontations with Israeli forces. Israeli forces prevented Palestinian ambulance crews from reaching the injured. As a result, Palestinian residents took Abdullah and an injured Palestinian man inside a nearby mosque until Israeli forces withdrew from the area around 8 a.m. Abdullah and the other man were then transported by ambulance to Thabet Thabet Governmental Hospital where they were both pronounced dead.
On Wednesday, March 20, around 10 p.m., an Israeli military force consisting of dozens of military vehicles, accompanied by bulldozers, raided the Nour Shams refugee camp east of Tulkarem city. Confrontations erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces, which began to bulldoze roads and infrastructure within the camp. Additionally, numerous homes of civilians were raided. The Israeli military operation in the Nour Shams camp continued until approximately 8 a.m. the following day, March 21. During the military incursion, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians, including Iyad and Abdullah.
113 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.
Israeli forces and settlers have killed 32 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2024, including two United States citizens, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
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 willful killings.
