As leaders discuss extending the temporary truce, Israeli forces kill two children, including an 8-year-old boy, in the occupied West Bank. Meanwhile, Gaza is still facing a grave humanitarian crisis, with children on the front line.
UN agencies report that fuel shortages will force Gaza hospitals, desalination plants, and bakeries to close, indirectly killing many. “The situation is catastrophic. Civilians, especially children, continue to pay the heaviest price,” says Save the Children.
The scenes today in Gaza feel familiar. And yet, at the same time, what we are witnessing today is worse than anything we have seen before in Gaza.
The West Bank has become a crucial front for the battle over political legitimacy among Palestinian factions as a new phase of armed resistance rises.
The past few months have witnessed a worrying increase in Israeli settler attacks, many of which have turned deadly. Those attacks are continuing on a daily basis in the West Bank, with full impunity for the settlers.
At least 14 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank over the last three days, making it one of the deadliest weeks since the start of 2023. Among those killed were three youths, including two 14-year-olds, and a 17-year-old.
Two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces in separate events in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israeli forces shot and killed 20-year-old Aref Lahlouh was shot and killed near the city of Qalqilya in the West Bank, claiming that he attempted to stab soldiers. 17-year-old Mohammad Ali was killed during confrontations in the Shu’fat refugee camp.
Adam Ayyad, 15, was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a raid on the Dheisheh refugee camp in the occupied West Bank city of Bethlehem. Ayyad is the third Palestinian killed by the Israeli army in 24 hours, and the first Palestinian child killed in 2023.
In his final handwritten will, Ayyad left behind a message to the world:
“Martyrdom is the end. It’s true that your life ends, but it ends with your happiness, and I want to send this message to the entire world, like [Ibrahim] al-Nabulsi said: ‘I just wish that the people will wake up.’
And now I’m telling you all, set your compass and point it towards the occupation.”
2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in decades. We kept a record of all those who were killed by Israeli state and settler violence. These are their names, faces, and stories.
The three Palestinians killed overnight were identified by the Palestinian Health Ministry as Jawad Rimawi, 22, Thafer Rimawi, 21, and Mufid Ikhlayel, 44. A fourth Palestinian was killed later on Tuesday morning after carrying out a car-ramming that left one Israeli wounded.