At least two Palestinian children were shot dead by Israeli occupation forces (IOF) gunfire in two separate incidents on Friday, February 21, in the occupied West Bank.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the victims were identified as 13-year-old Ayman Nassar Al-Haimouni and 13-year-old Rimas Omar Amori.
Local sources told Palestinian News Agency Wafa that Ayman was visiting relatives in the Jabal Jawhar area, south of Hebron, when Israeli forces shot him in the chest. He was transported by Red Crescent crews to Mohammad Ali Al-Muhtaseb Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Rimas was in the courtyard of her family home in the Jabriyat area of Jenin when Israeli forces, positioned inside a heavily armored military vehicle about 50 meters away, fired multiple rounds, striking her in the abdomen and back. She succumbed to her injuries shortly after arriving at Jenin Governmental Hospital.
“Both Ayman and Rimas were targeted suddenly and without warning in the back with lethal force by Israeli soldiers safely positioned inside armored vehicles,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at Defense for Children International Palestine (DCIP).
“Israeli forces have nothing but contempt for Palestinian children’s lives, and systemic impunity means they will face no consequences. It is outrageous that world leaders have allowed Israel to kill Palestinian children with such cruelty and without accountability.”
Eight-year-old Jannat Faisal Sabri Mutawar sustained a serious head injury and is facing a lifetime of vision loss after Israeli forces shot her in the head while inside her home near Hebron on Tuesday, February 11.
On January 25, two-year-old Laila Mohammad Ayman Khatib was shot and killed by Israeli forces who shot her in the back of the head while her family ate dinner south of Jenin.
In 2025, Israeli forces have killed 16 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Eight died in drone strikes, seven from live ammunition, and one from an unspecified injury.
In 2024, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 93 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, based on DCIP records.
