Ramallah, April 3, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a 16-year-old Palestinian boy in the northern occupied West Bank yesterday.
Omar Amer Yasser Zioud, 16, was shot and killed by an Israeli soldier positioned inside a heavily armored Israeli military vehicle from a distance of about 80 meters (262 feet) away around 4:20 p.m. on April 2 near the Silat al-Harithiya Secondary Boys' School at the main entrance to the Palestinian town of Silat al-Harithiya, northwest of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Omar, alongside other young Palestinians, were throwing stones and explosive devices at two Israeli military vehicles after they departed from the Jalameh checkpoint, north of Jenin and headed toward the western area of Jenin.
“Omar grew up in a hypermilitarized environment where Israeli soldiers regularly carry out military incursions into Palestinian communities, harass and detain Palestinians at checkpoints, and kill Palestinians, including children, with live ammunition with complete impunity,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Israeli soldiers continue targeting children with deadly force with no accountability because world leaders allow them to act without consequence.”
Omar sustained a gunshot wound to the left side of his chest, rupturing his heart and exiting through his back. Two Palestinians, including a child, tried to approach Omar to help him, but they were targeted, causing both to be injured by shrapnel and sustain minor injuries.
Omar was transferred in a private Palestinian car to the Al-Hadaf Medical Center in the town of Silat al-Harithiya. Then, he was immediately transferred by ambulance to Ibn Sina Specialized Hospital in Jenin, where doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival.
Israeli forces have killed 19 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
192 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.
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.
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.
