Ramallah, January 6, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the northern occupied West Bank yesterday.
Motaz Ahmad Abdulwahab Madani, 16, was shot by Israeli forces around 7:25 p.m. on January 5 near Tal Askar area in the New Askar refugee camp, east of Nablus in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Motaz sustained two gunshot wounds in the chest from a distance of about 70 to 100 meters (230 to 328 feet) away.
“Israeli forces and settlers enjoy near complete impunity, empowering them to act without any bounds,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “The lack of any political will to restrain or end Israel’s military offensive in Gaza makes the international community complicit in genocide and gives a greenlight to escalating violations in the West Bank, too.”
Israeli military vehicles approached and parked next to Motaz, who was lying on the ground and bleeding severely, and prevented a Palestinian ambulance from reaching him. After 20 minutes, the ambulance was able to reach him and he was transferred to Rafidia Governmental Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:15 p.m. after attempts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Three Israeli military vehicles entered the eastern part of Nablus city from the Alon Moreh settlement on January 5 at 7:20 p.m., moving toward the main street near the New Askar refugee camp. Israeli soldiers disembarked from the vehicles and started firing indiscriminately at Palestinians in the area.
Motaz is the first Palestinian child shot and killed by Israeli forces in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
175 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 from Israeli-fired ground shell, and one child was killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind by Israeli forces.
