13-year-old Ibrahim Emad Ahmad Hamran was shot and killed by Israeli forces in Araba on July 23. Photo: Courtesy of the Hamran family.
Ramallah, July 24, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a 13-year-old Palestinian boy in the northern occupied West Bank yesterday.
Ibrahim Emad Ahmad Hamran, 13, was shot by Israeli forces around 6:40 p.m. on July 23 near the western entrance of the Palestinian town of Araba, southwest of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Ibrahim, alongside two other children, were walking through a secluded olive grove overlooking the town’s main road and started throwing stones at three Israeli military vehicles, including a military bulldozer, who had withdrawn from the town of Qabatiya, south of Jenin, and passed through the road leading to the Mevo Dotan military camp and settlement.
One of the military vehicles stopped and unloaded about ten soldiers, who advanced on foot between the olive trees toward the location of the children. After the soldiers approached the children directly, they started shooting at them from a distance of about 20 to 30 meters (65 to 98 feet) away, demanding they stop fleeing.
“Israeli forces are increasingly and brazenly killing Palestinian children throughout the West Bank,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “At this moment, there is absolutely no check on Israeli aggression as the international community enables war crimes through the provision of weapons and financial and diplomatic support to ensure Israeli forces and officers enjoy impunity regardless of the gravity of crimes.”
Ibrahim sustained a gunshot wound to the upper right thigh close to his pelvis. The other children weren’t severely injured, allowing them to escape. While Ibrahim was lying bleeding on the ground, the soldiers approached and remained near him for an hour.
Due to the uninhabited nature of the agricultural area and the local residents’ lack of knowledge about Ibrahim’s injury, the incident went unreported until the two children reached Araba town and alerted others. It took approximately an hour for an ambulance to arrive at the scene and begin the search for Ibrahim. Soldiers then approached the ambulance crew and informed them of Ibrahim’s location. He was transferred to Jenin Governmental Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival.
Israeli forces have killed 35 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
209 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.
Targeting children with lethal force perpetuates Israel's continuing disproportionate and unnecessary military response to the Palestinian population and directly contravenes Israel’s responsibility to protect the rights granted to children under its illegal occupational control, according to international law.
