Palestinian child succumbs to wounds from Israeli army gunfire in West Bank

By Awad Rajoob

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - A Palestinian boy died Tuesday from injuries he sustained after being shot earlier this month by Israeli forces in the northern West Bank, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported Tuesday.

The agency said that 13-year-old Saif Ziyad Ali Ameir was shot in the chest by Israeli soldiers on July 11.

Ameir, from the town of Bal’a east of Tulkarm, was visiting his grandfather’s home in the town of Meithalun, south of Jenin, when he was shot.

Due to the severity of his condition, he was transferred to Rafidia Hospital in Nablus, where doctors announced his death on Tuesday evening, WAFA added.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank amid a deadly Israeli offensive that has killed nearly 39,100 people in the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 last year.

At least 586 Palestinians have since been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied West Bank, according to the Health Ministry.

In a landmark opinion on July 19, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land "illegal" and called for the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio