Israeli soldier’s shooting of 11-year-old raises West Bank child death toll to 165: UN
The United Nations has disclosed that the recent killing of 11-year-old Abdullah Jamal Hawash by the Israeli military raises the total number of Palestinian children killed in the occupied West Bank to 165 in just one year.
This incident is particularly disturbing as Hawash posed no real threat to Israeli forces when he was shot in the chest for throwing stones at an armored vehicle in Nablus.
This tragic event is part of a larger pattern of violence against Palestinian children. Just days before, a 17-year-old in Hebron was shot in the head by Israeli forces and is now fighting for his life.
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Another 11-year-old was also critically injured by Israeli forces in the Hebron governorate’s Arroub refugee camp just three days before.
The breakdown of the 165 Palestinian children killed in the occupied West Bank is alarming: 129 were shot by Israeli soldiers, while 36 were killed in Israeli airstrikes.
Human Rights Watch has documented that Israeli forces have been killing Palestinian children with virtually no recourse for accountability, and that 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in the West Bank in 15 years.
In the Gaza Strip, not less than 42,792 people have been killed and 100,412 wounded in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023. An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks and more than 200 were taken captive.
