Two young Palestinians shot dead by Israeli forces in West Bank

Two young Palestinian men have been killed by Israeli forces in two separate incidents in the occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

The incidents on Saturday killed 20-year-old Aziz Abdulrahim Ekhlail and 25-year old Salem Nasser Hajar.

Ekhlail was shot in the abdomen by the Israeli forces in the town of Beit Ummar, while Hajar was killed in the city of Tulkarem, reported the Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

The Palestinian health ministry said Hajar was shot by Israeli forces in the city’s Deir al-Ghusun area while he was accompanying his brother, who was also arrested, according to the Wafa report.

Israeli aggression in the occupied West Bank has ramped up since Israel’s bombardment of Gaza began on October 7.

The deaths of the young men bring the total number of Palestinian fatalities reported in the occupied territory since that day to 290, making it the deadliest year on record in 18 years.

The death toll includes at least 65 children, with a further 3,365 injured.

Israeli authorities have also stepped up the arrests of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem since October 7, with more than 4,500 people detained in the past two months, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Society.

Settler attacks against Palestinians and their properties are also on the rise, leading to heightened tensions in the occupied West Bank.