Amjad Nassar Shehadeh Awad, 17, was shot and killed by Israeli forces in Ramallah on July 1. (Photo: Courtesy of the Awad family)
Ramallah, July 3, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a 17-year-old Palestinian boy in the central occupied West Bank on Tuesday.
Amjad Nassar Shehadeh Awad, 17, was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier positioned inside a heavily armored Israeli military vehicle from a distance of about 50 meters (164 feet) away around 5 a.m. on July 1 near Al-Manarah Roundabout in the center of Ramallah city, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine.
“Israeli forces continue to escalate military operations in the occupied West Bank where the unlawful killing of Palestinian children is the norm,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “As Palestinian children are increasingly targeted in the West Bank, Israeli forces enjoy complete impunity despite clear evidence of war crimes.”
Amjad was crossing the Al-Manarah Roundabout with a relative when confrontations erupted between Palestinian youths and Israeli forces, who opened fire at the Palestinians. Amjad sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was transferred by ambulance to the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival.
Israeli forces have killed 31 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
205 Palestinian children have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
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.
Israel’s routine use of lethal force against Palestinian children reflects a wider policy of violence and impunity that violates international law. Under international human rights law, lethal force may only be used when strictly unavoidable to protect life. Yet, Israeli forces continue to target children with deliberate, unlawful killings.
