Israeli forces kill child in occupied West Bank

Israeli troops shot dead a 15-year-old boy in the occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the second teenager killed there in three days, the Palestinian health ministry said.

"The child Rayan Tamer Houshiyeh was killed after being shot in the neck by soldiers in the town of Al-Yamoun, northwest of Jenin," the Ramallah-based ministry said.

Earlier Wednesday, the Palestinian Red Crescent said that its teams had handled "a very critical case" in Al-Yamoun involving a teenager, before pronouncing him dead.

The army told AFP that it was "looking into" the events in Al-Yamoun.

The Red Crescent later said that a 30-year-old man also suffered a "serious head injury" in an attack by settlers in the town of Kafr Malik, northeast of Ramallah.

On Monday, the health ministry had said Israeli fire killed a 13-year-old it identified as Ammar Hamayel, also in Kafr Malik.

Earlier this month, the army confirmed it had killed a 14-year-old who threw rocks in the town of Sinjil.

In a similar incident in April, a teenager who held US citizenship was shot dead in the neighbouring town of Turmus Ayya, with the Israeli military saying it had killed a "terrorist" who threw rocks at cars.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967, and violence in the territory has soared since Israeli forces began their assault on Gaza following the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.

Israeli troops and settlers have killed at least 941 Palestinians over the past 20 months, according to the health ministry.

Over the same period, at least 35 Israelis have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations, according to Israeli figures.

(AFP and TNA staff)