Palestinian Families Seek Answers After Israeli Fire Claims Children’s Lives in the West Bank

One child was shot while sitting on her mother’s lap. Another was struck by an airstrike as he entered his home. Two others were killed while playing outside with friends.

Israeli gunfire has resulted in the deaths of at least eighteen children under the age of 15 in the occupied West Bank this year, according to the United Nations. This comes after 29 children were killed in 2023 and 23 in 2024, a tragic increase following the eruption of Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza on October 7, 2023.

Some children were killed during Israeli military raids in crowded neighborhoods, while others were shot by snipers in calm areas. The number of incidents has risen as the Israeli military has intensified operations in the occupied West Bank since the war started, citing a crackdown on militants.

The Associated Press spoke to several families who lost their children this year. Many families, given Israel’s history of rarely reprimanding its soldiers for violent acts, doubt there will be any accountability.

The military informed the AP that its engagement rules “strictly prohibit intentional fire” at civilians, stating that claims it targets minors are “false” and “baseless.” It mentioned that investigations into some of the cases have been initiated.

However, there has been no indication of any soldiers facing disciplinary action, and families report receiving minimal information regarding how and why their children were killed.

Here are some of their stories, as they’ve told them to the AP.

Layla, 2

Tayma Asous, a water engineer and single mother living in a quiet Jenin neighborhood, recalls daughter Layla Al-Khatib as precocious and intelligent — always wanting to play pretend.

On Jan. 25, while Layla sat on Asous’ lap before a family meal, an Israeli sniper fired through the second-floor window of the family home. The bullet hit Layla in the skull.

Blood trickled down Layla’s head and onto Asous’ hijab.

Layla’s grandfather grabbed her limp body and ran downstairs, calling for help, as Asous followed in a daze. Four military jeeps were parked outside.

Asous approached the soldiers. She remembers one looked at her and said, “I am sorry.”

Asous says Layla was still breathing when the ambulance arrived, but died on the way to the hospital.

The military said it is still investigating Layla’s case and could not give further details.

Saddam, 10

Saddam Rajab lived with his father, Iyad, in a studio apartment in the restive city of Tulkarem.

The two had a special relationship — Saddam was Iyad’s firstborn, the eldest of four. When Iyad was hospitalized with leg injuries, Saddam visited him constantly.

On the evening of Jan. 28, the two were sitting on the roof with friends. Saddam asked for his father’s phone and took it downstairs, stepping outside.

Security camera footage obtained by the AP shows what happened next: The boy, standing on the sidewalk with phone in hand, sees something off camera, turns and shots ring out. Saddam falls to the ground, screams “Mama!” and writhes in pain. Struggling on crutches, his father pulls Saddam by the collar of his sweater, leaving behind one of the boy’s sneakers — and a bloodstain.

The 10-year-old died from his injuries 10 days later.

The military said investigation findings in the case were submitted to the military Advocate General, which decides whether to file charges. But it didn’t specify their findings.

Amer, 14

Amer Rabee, an American Palestinian teenager born in New Jersey, was killed on a West Bank hilltop in his village of Turmus Ayya. He was picking almonds with friends on April 6, when Israeli soldiers shot him, his father, Mohammed, says.

A security camera in Turmus Ayya, where the population is mostly Palestinian American, captured the sound of 36 gunshots. Amer was killed, his two friends were injured.

After Amer died, soldiers stripped off his clothes, put his body in a blue bag and brought it to a military base. Mohammed later opened the bag and identified his body, pockmarked with bullets.

The military declined to say whether the investigation into Amer’s death had concluded. It said its forces had opened fire on “three terrorists,” who it said were throwing stones at a highway and endangering civilians.

Grainy video footage released by the military shows three people, including one who appears to throw something. The video is not timestamped.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said further investigation was needed to determine what happened.

Ayman, 12

Anwar al-Heimouni, 29, says her son Ayman’s last words to her as he died were, “Mama, they shot me.”

In events captured by two security cameras, Ayman stepped outside his grandfather’s house in Hebron before being shot.

In the footage, three soldiers come up the alley to the house’s driveway and appear to spot Ayman’s body.

They retreat without offering him aid, joining three other soldiers at the street’s end.

The family gathers around Ayman, and relatives carry his body down the street behind the withdrawing soldiers. He died Feb. 21.

Al-Heimouni and her husband, who works in security for the Palestinian Authority, have three other children: Ayem, 3; Tia Lara, 5; and Aysar, 10.

The kids all wear pendants emblazoned with Ayman’s face. His mother keeps his bed made, as if he might return at any point.

Military police are investigating Ayman’s case, the military said, but it could not give further details.

Rimas, 13

It was Feb. 21 — day 32 of Israel’s military operation in the Jenin refugee camp — and Rimas Amouri wanted to play outside, despite her mother’s protestations.

Within seconds of stepping outside, gunshots sounded and there was yelling, her mother, Rudeina, says. Rimas had been shot in the back.

“I was screaming, ‘Please calm down, calm down.’ Then they started shooting at me,” Rudeina said.

Ten soldiers surrounded the house, she says, shooting from about 25 meters (yards) away every time she tried to run to her daughter. After 30 minutes, it was too late.

“I came closer and lifted her up. Her face had turned yellow,” Rudeina said. “I knew she was gone.”

Rimas’ father, Omar, says they “needed a special permit from the Israelis” to enter the graveyard and bury her.

Military police are investigating Rimas’ case, the military said, but it could not provide further details.

Ahmad, 14

The Jazar family celebrated Ramadan this year with one person missing.

Ahmad, who wanted to become an interior designer, was shot by Israeli forces in his hometown, Sebastia, on Jan. 19.

Neither of his parents was present when he was shot. Neither knows why he was killed.

“I don’t let my young ones run in the street alone anymore,” his mother, Wafa, said. “I wait at the door whenever they go out, waiting until they are home again.”

Military police are investigating Ahmad’s case, the military said, but it could not provide further details.

Mahmoud, 14

A group of men was huddled outside the Gharbieh house in the Jenin refugee camp on Jan. 14, eating sweets.

It was late and cold, remembers Ashraf Gharbieh, the lone survivor of that night.

His son, Mahmoud, stood up and headed inside to get a spoon. There was a flash of light. The first missile landed. The next came seconds later. Then a third.

Six people died. The elder Gharbieh was left with hearing damage.

The military said the airstrike killed several militants and that it was “aware of claims” that an uninvolved civilian was harmed. It did not say whether it was investigating Mahmoud’s death.

Of his son, Gharbieh says, “I wanted to die with him.”

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Associated Press journalists Ahmed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, and Areej Hazboun and Ibrahim Hazboun in Jerusalem contributed to this report.