DayofPal– Two Palestinian children were shot and killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank, with reports indicating they were shot in the back, according to child rights organization Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP).
The two victims were identified as 12-year-old Ayman Al-Hemouni from Hebron and 13-year-old Rimas Ammouri from Jenin.
Ayman was near the home of a family member in the Hebron area when he was shot in the back by an Israeli soldier on Friday evening, DCIP reported. Meanwhile, Rimas was shot in the courtyard of her family home in Jenin on Friday afternoon.
Israeli forces were carrying out a military incursion and had regularly targeted the area for weeks. An ambulance immediately transported Ayman to Mohammad Ali Al-Muhtaseb Hospital, located nearby, where doctors assessed the bullet struck Ayman’s right lung and settled in his left lung.
Ayman was pronounced dead about 30 minutes later at 7 p.m.
According to DCIP, an Israeli soldier stationed inside an armoured vehicle approximately 50 metres (164 feet) away fired at least five bullets into the courtyard where Rimas was standing, hitting her in the back.
Soldiers continued firing toward family members who approached Rimas to help. Rimas’ mother was able to pull her inside and the Israeli military vehicle drove away.
While they waited for an ambulance, which took about 20 minutes to arrive due to movement restrictions placed by the Israeli military, her family applied bandages to her wounds, which were bleeding profusely.
Rimas was pronounced dead around ten minutes after her arrival to Jenin Governmental Hospital at about 4:30 p.m.
“Both Ayman and Rimas were targeted suddenly and without warning in the back with lethal force by Israeli soldiers safely positioned inside armoured vehicles,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, a representative of DCIP.
Abu Eqtaish further condemned the killings, stating, “Israeli forces have nothing but contempt for Palestinian children’s lives and systemic impunity means they will face no consequences.”
Rimas is the third Palestinian child targeted with live ammunition in her own home in the occupied West Bank since the end of January, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
Eight-year-old Jannat Faisal Sabri Mutawar sustained a serious head injury and is facing a lifetime of vision loss after Israeli forces shot her in the head while inside her home near Hebron on February 11.
Two-year-old Laila Mohammad Ayman Khatib was shot and killed by Israeli forces who shot her in the back of the head while her family ate dinner south of Jenin on January 25.
The deaths of Ayman and Rimas add to the growing number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank.
Israeli forces have killed 16 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
Eight children were killed by Israeli drone strikes, seven children were shot and killed with live ammunition, and one child with unknown nature of injury.
In 2024, Israeli forces and settlers killed at least 93 Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by DCIP.
Israeli forces and settlers shot and killed 71 Palestinian children with live ammunition, 17 Palestinian children were killed in drone strikes, three Palestinian children were killed in an Israeli warplane airstrike, one child was killed by Israeli-fired ground shell, and one child was killed by unexploded ordnance (UXO) left behind by Israeli forces.
Human rights organizations continue to express concern over the increasing use of lethal force against minors and the lack of accountability for such deliberate killing.
International observers and rights groups have repeatedly called for independent investigations into the killings of Palestinian children, citing a pattern of impunity that allows such incidents to persist without consequences.
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