Ramallah, January 21, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy in the northern occupied West Bank on Sunday.
Ahmad Rashid Rushdi Jazar, 14, was shot by Israeli forces around 8:15 p.m. on January 19 near the Sebastia kindergarten, in the Palestinian town of Sebastia, northwest of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Ahmad and his friends were sitting in the area when Israeli forces, concealed and positioned among the trees in the Al-Tinat area, opened fire on the children from a distance of 650 meters (2,133 feet). Ahmad was struck with a bullet in the chest, falling onto the ground and bleeding severely.
“Israeli forces consistently use lethal force against Palestinian children, even in circumstances where they pose no threat to life or safety,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Ahmad’s killing highlights the routine nature of violence that Palestinian children face, where Israeli military incursions often escalate to fatal outcomes without accountability.”
Ahmad’s friends began shouting for help, and one of them tried to reach him, but soldiers fired three shots without causing injury. A Palestinian man was able to reach Ahmad and pulled him to a safer location. Ahmad was then placed in a Palestinian civilian car and transported to An-Najah University Hospital in Nablus, where he was pronounced dead at 9 p.m.
Israeli forces have killed six Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Four children were killed by Israeli drone strikes and two children were shot and killed with live ammunition.
180 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, when the Israeli military began a full-scale military offensive on the Gaza Strip.
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.