According to Palestinian officials, Israeli troops shot and killed a 15-year-old Palestinian in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military entered Azzoun, a West Bank town, late on Thursday, according to Ahmad Enaya, the mayor, and when youths threw rocks at the vehicle, soldiers opened fire.
The ministry stated that two more people were hurt, one of whom is a young child who is in critical condition.
The Israeli military said in a statement that while conducting a search in the region for those who fired fireworks at Israeli cars moving close to Azzoun, soldiers shot at suspects who had thrown explosives towards forces.
It claimed to be aware of reports of injuries, but it did not confirm any Palestinian fatalities.
Since last year, Israel has carried out almost daily incursions in the West Bank, murdering hundreds of Palestinians in the process.
Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian hamlet of Huwara late on Sunday, only hours after two of them were killed while driving through the town in the northern West Bank.
Overnight, hundreds Israeli settlers attacked Huwara with rocks and set fire to homes and cars, and a Palestinian man was slain in the nearby community of Zaatara.
With apparent backing from certain top Israeli politicians, the settler rampage was referred to as a “pogrom” by Palestinians, an Israeli general, and other Israelis.
Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right finance minister, called for Huwara to be “wiped out,” prompting a condemnation from the US.
An Israeli-American driver was assassinated by gunmen on Monday, and a Palestinian man was killed by Israeli troops on Wednesday while they were looking for suspects in the Aqabat Jaber refugee camp near Jericho.
Since Israel’s new government assumed power at the end of last year, Israeli troops have conducted three significant raids in Palestinian communities, including one in Nablus on February 22 that resulted in the highest number of Palestinian fatalities in a single Israeli military operation since 2005.
There had also been an increase in Palestinian attacks against Israelis and the emergence of new armed Palestinian groups.
The United States, Jordan, and Egypt have made an appeal for peace out of concern that tensions may rise before the Jewish Passover holiday and the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Since the beginning of 2023, at least 66 Palestinians have died, including gunmen and civilians, according to the Palestinian health ministry. According to official Israeli statistics, thirteen Israelis and a tourist from Ukraine perished in Palestinian attacks during the same time period.
General Mark Milley, a senior US Army official, arrived in Israel on Friday to meet with Israeli colleagues to discuss regional security challenges, according to his spokesperson on Friday.
Colonel Dave Butler stated in a statement that Milley’s program would “address the myriad challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East area.” Butler did not elaborate.
