Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank: Palestinian ministry

Israeli army fire killed two Palestinians, a teenager, and a 70-year-old, on Tuesday in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied by Israel since 1967, has been wracked by violence since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, triggered by the group’s unprecedented attacks on October 7.

Rawhi Rashid Sawafta, 70, died “after being shot in the face” during a raid by the Israeli army in the city of Tubas in the north of the West Bank, the Palestinian ministry said.

Nine Palestinians were wounded, two seriously, in clashes with Israeli forces during the raid, the ministry added.

According to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa, Israeli forces in civilian clothing had surrounded a house in Tubas before being joined by army reinforcements.

The Israeli army did not respond to a request for comment.

Earlier in the evening another Palestinian, 16-year-old Abdallah Moqbel, was killed by Israeli fire in Beit Ummar in the southern West Bank, the Palestinian ministry said.

The ministry said a 14-year-old injured by Israeli fire one day earlier also died Tuesday. Five more Palestinians were killed in separate raids in the West Bank on Monday.

The West Bank is the site of frequent raids by the Israeli army and attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians, as well as Palestinian attacks on Israeli forces and settlers.

At least 122 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank, mostly by soldiers or Israeli settlers since October 7 according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The Hamas assault that day killed more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli authorities.

According to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza, Israeli bombardments there have killed more than 8,500 people, the overwhelming majority of them civilians.