Warning: Disturbing Content – Israeli Forces Kill 8-Year-Old and 15-Year-Old Palestinian Boys in West Bank Raid

Accident – Death – Obituary News : WARNING: This story includes disturbing content.

Four Palestinians, including two children and two senior militant commanders, were killed on Wednesday by Israeli forces in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials.

The Palestinian health ministry stated that the two children, 8-year-old Adam Samer Al-Ghoul and 15-year-old Basil Suleiman Abu Al-Wafa, were shot dead by Israeli occupation forces in the city of Jenin.

Unverified video footage circulating on social media appeared to show Al-Ghoul and Al-Wafa being hit, but it did not show who fired the shots. The Israel Defense Force (IDF) was asked to comment on the footage, but has not yet responded. CBC News has also requested comment from the military and is awaiting a response.

One of the videos shared by the official Palestinian news agency WAFA shows three boys running away before Al-Ghoul tumbles to the ground and stops moving. Another boy rushes to him and drags his limp body behind a car, leaving a trail of blood on the ground.

A second video shows several boys dressed in black running in the street. Al-Wafa can be seen moving forward with something in his hands before he appears to be shot, falling to the ground and lying motionless.

WAFA cited “local sources” saying that Israeli forces shot the boys directly and prevented citizens and paramedics from reaching them and providing medical treatment. However, the report could not be independently verified.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society also reported that they were prevented from reaching injured people in part of the Jenin refugee camp.

Dr. Wissam Bakker, director of the Khalil Suleiman Governmental Hospital in Jenin, where the boys’ bodies were taken, said that the Israeli military placed the medical facility under siege and prevented any wounded from entering the emergency department. He believes that the IDF deliberately shot both boys based on where the bullets hit, targeting the upper part of the body, including the brain and chest.

In addition to the two children, the Israeli military also said that two Islamic Jihad militants, Muhammad Jamal Zubaidi and Wissam Ziad Hanoun, were killed during the raid in Jenin. The Israeli army described Zubaidi as a senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad operative and one of its central leaders in the Jenin Camp.

This incident further escalates the violence in the occupied West Bank, which has already seen a sharp increase in killings this year. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has documented over 450 Palestinian killings in the West Bank in 2023, with more than 230 of those occurring since October 7. OCHA reported that Israeli forces were responsible for nearly all of the killings since October 7, and more than half of the fatalities occurred during operations that did not involve armed clashes.

The ongoing violence and killings in the West Bank have raised concerns about the situation spiraling out of control. Many in the West Bank see Israel’s war against Hamas as an attack on the Palestinian people, leading to increased support for the militant Islamist group..