An Israeli raid on the village of Burqa in the occupied West Bank left a 14-year-old Palestinian boy dead and two other teenagers wounded, according to officials. The Palestinian Ministry of Health named the victim as Moataz Iyad Daghlas on Tuesday and said Israeli authorities were holding his body.
The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that the wounded were a 17-year-old shot in the abdomen and pelvis and a 19-year-old hit in the hand. The Israeli military confirmed the shooting in Burqa, a village near the city of Nablus.
Military says troops fired to stop stone-throwing
In a statement, the military said soldiers opened fire to stop Palestinians from throwing stones at Israeli vehicles. “The forces responded with gunfire to neutralise the threat and several hits were confirmed,” it said.
According to Wafa, soldiers detained the boy’s father and prevented an ambulance from reaching the wounded. Three volunteer paramedics from the Palestine Red Crescent Society, who were working in the area, were also held briefly, the agency reported.
UN figures on West Bank deaths since October 2023
The incident comes as violence in the occupied West Bank has risen to what the United Nations has described as an “unprecedented level”. The surge follows the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, and the war in Gaza that followed.
According to the UN, at least 1,143 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank since October 7, 2023, including 250 children. The figure also includes Palestinians killed by Israeli settlers living in illegal settlements in the territory.
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) said 2026 is on track to be the most violent year for settler-related violence since it began monitoring the territory a decade ago. It said 11 people were killed in four incidents involving armed settlers alongside Israeli forces in July alone.
