At dawn on Friday, Israeli forces fatally shot two Palestinian teenagers during a military invasion in the town of Kafr Aqab, located north of occupied Jerusalem in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that its medics evacuated the two youths to hospital after they sustained life-threatening injuries from live ammunition fired by Israeli soldiers.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health later confirmed that Amro Khaled Ahmad Al-Marboa’ (18) and Sami Ibrahim Sami Al-Mashayikh (16) succumbed to their wounds.
Eyewitnesses said Israeli troops stormed Kafr Aqab in the early hours, deploying foot patrols throughout the streets and positioning sharpshooters on the rooftops of residential buildings, leading to protests. The snipers opened fire on youths in the area, killing Al-Marboa’ and Al-Mashayikh.
The population of Kafr ‘Aqab is estimated at over 125,000 Palestinians, including individuals holding Israeli citizenship, others with Israeli-issued “permanent residency” cards, or Palestinian Authority identity documents, as well as thousands without any legal status—an outcome of Israel’s discriminatory residency and reunification policies targeting Palestinians in and around occupied Jerusalem.
Kafr ‘Aqab is one of the few areas where families affected by Israel’s “family reunification” restrictions can live together. It is estimated that up to 30,000 family reunification applicants reside in Kafr ‘Aqab, in hopes that their legal status will one day be recognized.
The invasion and killing of the two teenagers come amid a broader escalation in Israeli military operations across the occupied West Bank.
Illegal paramilitary Israeli colonizers and military units have intensified incursions, abductions, destruction of property, and the use of lethal force against Palestinian civilians, particularly in refugee camps and densely populated urban areas.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly condemned Israel’s use of live ammunition against unarmed civilians, including minors, during military invasions that often occur without warning and in violation of international humanitarian law.
So far this year, Israeli soldiers and paramilitary colonizers have killed 244 Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, including 50 children and 7 women. Of those, 13 were killed by colonizers.
The highest number of fatalities was recorded in Jenin governorate with 80 deaths, followed by 43 in Nablus, 31 in Tubas, 24 in Hebron, 20 in Ramallah, 17 in Tulkarem, 10 in Jerusalem, 9 in Bethlehem, 6 in Qalqilia, 3 in Salfit, and 1 in Jericho.
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