By Israa Ghurani
TUBAS, December 14, 2025 (WAFA) — Since the beginning of this year, human rights organizations have documented the killing of more than 50 Palestinian children in the West Bank during repeated Israeli military incursions and the use of excessive force against civilians.
According to rights documentation, the rise in child fatalities has coincided with intensified Israeli raids across the West Bank, particularly in refugee camps and densely populated urban areas. These developments have taken place alongside the ongoing war on the Gaza Strip, where official figures indicate that more than 70,000 Palestinians have been killed, including over 18,000 children.
Rights groups report that many recent cases in the West Bank involve compound violations carried out during a single incident. These include the deliberate shooting of children with live ammunition, obstruction or prevention of medical teams from reaching the wounded, and the continued withholding of bodies after death.
One of the most recent and widely documented cases is the killing of 15-year-old Jadallah Jihad Jadallah during an Israeli incursion into al-Far’a refugee camp, south of Tubas, on November 16. The incident drew widespread attention due to eyewitness accounts and the actions taken by Israeli forces after the child was shot.
Jadallah’s mother told WAFA that Israeli forces stormed the camp in broad daylight, causing panic among residents. Her son was outside the family home at the time. Neighbors later informed the family that soldiers were heard asking the wounded child for his name while he was bleeding on the ground.
She said Israeli soldiers prevented ambulances from reaching him and left him injured for a prolonged period. After the forces withdrew, they took him away while he was still wounded and later notified the family of his death, while continuing to withhold his body.
The mother appealed to regional and international human rights institutions to intervene and pressure Israeli authorities to return her son’s body so the family could bury him according to religious and cultural traditions. She added that her son had already been suffering from a serious knee injury sustained during a previous incursion two years earlier, an injury that caused him chronic pain and limited mobility.
Medical sources confirmed that Jadallah had been shot during an earlier raid on the camp, during which seven locals were killed. Since then, he had struggled with daily pain and was unable to fully bend his knee, often performing prayers while seated due to his condition.
Nedal Odeh, director of ambulance and emergency services in Tubas governorate, said paramedics received a report of a wounded child inside the camp and immediately dispatched emergency teams. He stated that medics attempted for approximately 35 minutes to reach the injured child but were blocked by Israeli soldiers, who fired shots into the air and issued threats to prevent them from advancing.
Residents of al-Far’a camp said the incident revived memories of earlier cases, including the killing of another child, Majed Abu Zeina, more than a year ago. In that case, the child was left bleeding after being shot, medical teams were denied access, and his body was later subjected to mistreatment by an Israeli military bulldozer during the withdrawal of forces.
Additional cases of severe injuries among children have also been documented in Tubas governorate. On October 25, Israeli forces shot 15-year-old Ahmad Daraghmeh multiple times during an incursion into the city of Tubas. His father said that after Ahmad fell to the ground wounded, soldiers continued firing at him, and a second soldier joined in shooting at the injured child.
Ahmad survived the attack but sustained five bullet wounds and four shrapnel injuries, resulting in extensive damage to all four limbs. Doctors have indicated that his recovery will require prolonged treatment and multiple surgeries. As a result, Ahmad, a tenth-grade student, has been forced to suspend his education and now relies on a wheelchair and assistance from family members for daily movement.
Human rights organizations argue that the repetition and geographic spread of these incidents indicate a broader pattern. Shawan Jabarin, director of the Al-Haq human rights organization, said the growing number of cases points to an official policy rather than isolated or individual actions.
Jabarin stated that Israeli forces show disregard for international humanitarian and human rights law and are targeting the future of Palestinian society by targeting children. He explained that in previous years, children were often shot in ways that caused permanent disabilities, including injuries to the knees, while recent incidents increasingly involve fatal outcomes.
He added that international conventions clearly regulate the use of force during armed conflict, requiring necessity, proportionality, and distinction between civilians and combatants. According to Jabarin, Israeli forces routinely violate these principles by using lethal force against civilians without justification, and the absence of investigations or accountability reinforces the conclusion that these actions are systematic.
A report issued by Defense for Children International–Palestine on November 17 documented the killing of three Palestinian children in the span of one week, including Jadallah Jadallah and two children from the town of Beit Ummar, north of Hebron. The organization said Israeli authorities continue to withhold the bodies of the three children.
The same report noted that since June 2016, Israeli authorities have withheld the bodies of 59 Palestinian children, returning only six, while 53 bodies remain withheld. The organization described the practice as collective punishment and a serious violation of international humanitarian law.
International concern has also been raised. In a statement released on October 17, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the occupied Palestinian territory said that since October 7, 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed 1,001 Palestinians in the West Bank. The statement said children account for approximately 20 percent of the victims.
The UN office added that the figure represents a 43 percent increase compared to the total number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank over the past two decades. It attributed the rise to the systematic use of lethal force by Israeli forces, including live ammunition, airstrikes, and shoulder-fired missiles, in a manner described as unlawful, unnecessary, and disproportionate.
The statement also noted that the youngest recorded victim in the West Bank during this period was two-year-old Layla al-Khatib, who was shot and killed in her bedroom in the village of Muthlath al-Shuhada, south of Jenin, in January 2025. Her killing occurred during an Israeli offensive that led to the depopulation of three Palestinian refugee camps: Jenin, Tulkarm, and Nur Shams.
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