Palestinian succumbs to wounds from Israeli gunfire in West Bank

By Qais Abu Samra

RAMALLAH, Palestine (AA) - A young Palestinian on Friday died of injuries he sustained from Israeli gunfire last week in the occupied West Bank.

In a statement, the Health Ministry said Ashraf Abdullah, 20, died of his wounds at al-Istishari Hospital in Ramallah a week after being shot by Israeli forces in the Nour Shams refugee camp in the northern city of Tulkarem.

Seven Palestinians earlier on Friday were killed during an Israeli military raid on the Jenin refugee camp, according to a previous Health Ministry statement.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has carried out regular raids in the West Bank, which escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza last Oct. 7. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 569 Palestinians, including 136 children, have since been killed and nearly 5,300 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,000 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nearly nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara