Israeli West Bank raids leave Palestinian boy and grandmother dead
Israeli raids in the occupied West Bank resulted in the deaths of a Palestinian boy and an elderly woman in two separate assaults on Thursday.
Troops stormed a house in al-Mazraa al-Gharbiya, northwest of Ramallah, assaulting a family.
During the raid, Haniyeh Hanoun, 78, died after being assaulted by Israeli troops. Her grandson, Muhammad, was arrested in the same operation.
Nasr Hanoun, Haniyeh's son told Middle East Eye that dozens of Israeli soldiers stormed the house in the early morning hours on Thursday.
As soon as the raid began, she became terrified. She was among those assaulted by the soldiers, which caused her to faint, Nasr explained, adding that Israeli troops prevented the family from taking her to hospital.
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According to witnesses, the soldiers’ beatings were particularly targeted at Hanoun’s head and chest.
“For about an hour, the soldiers remained in the house with my mother unconscious, refusing to allow her to be taken to hospital despite our pleas,” Nasr said.
He added that once the soldiers withdrew, he rushed to take her to hospital, but Israeli military vehicles blocked his way for about 40 minutes - even though the hospital is only a five-minute drive from their home.
“She was visibly exhausted and completely unconscious. She suffered from chronic illnesses and had recently undergone open-heart surgery. At the hospital, they pronounced her dead after resuscitation efforts failed,” he said.
Bassam al-Khatib, the mayor of al-Mazraa al-Gharbiya, described the raid on Hanoun’s home as “brutal,” saying that soldiers assaulted everyone inside, including women. He said Hanoun’s granddaughter sustained a broken arm during the attack.
“Her grandson’s arrest was carried out in front of her in a humiliating manner, and the violent scene had severe health consequences that led to her death,” al-Khatib added.
He further explained that the troops’ refusal to allow medical attention is “a method soldiers routinely use when storming Palestinian villages and towns - deliberately delaying ambulances to prevent them from reaching the sick and injured, which often leads to deaths.”
According to local reports, Israeli raid-and-arrests assaults were reported across the occupied West Bank on Thursday, particularly in Ramallah, Jenin and Tulkarm.
In a separate incident, during a raid in the town of al-Yamoun, west of Jenin, Israeli soldiers shot dead a 15-year-old Palestinian boy, Murad Fawzi Abu Seifen.
Reports indicate that troops prevented paramedics from reaching and treating the wounded teenager. He was struck by four bullets and left bleeding on the ground for more than 20 minutes before soldiers withheld his body and withdrew from the town.
The Israeli army acknowledged the killing in a statement, claiming that an individual had thrown an “explosive device” at the troops. It added that “no injuries occurred among its forces”.
Since 7 October 2023, Israel has intensified its attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including through raids, air strikes and land seizures.
Israeli attacks have killed 1,065 Palestinians in the West Bank and wounded around 10,000 others since October 2023. More than 20,000 Palestinians, including 1,600 children, have also been arrested during this period.
Illegal settlement plans
As military raids continue across the occupied territory, Israeli authorities have also intensified settlement expansion and the demolition of Palestinian homes.
The Jerusalem Governorate has raised alarm over the latest expansion of the Adam settlement, located north of occupied Jerusalem.
It reported that Israeli authorities have issued new plans for the construction of 356 settlement units.
The governorate said the decision contributes to the “besieging of the Palestinian presence” and forms part of a broader policy of settlement expansion aimed at consolidating control over the northeastern slopes of Jerusalem.
Under international law, settlement construction in occupied territory is illegal and constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
In July 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion finding that Israel’s decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories is “unlawful” and that its “near-complete separation” of people in the occupied West Bank breaches international laws prohibiting “racial segregation” and “apartheid”.
Activists and legal experts argue that settlements are a major obstacle to peace, fragmenting the occupied West Bank and deepening hardship for Palestinians.
Despite international condemnation, the Israeli government continues to authorise thousands of new settlement units each year.
Outposts - settler areas built without official government authorisation - are also on the rise, ranging from small clusters of settlers to communities of up to 400 people.
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