RAMALLAH, Palestine

A Palestinian boy was killed by Israeli army gunfire on Tuesday evening during a raid in the city of Nablus, northern West Bank.

Abdullah Jamal Hawash, 11, succumbed to critical injuries sustained from the Israeli army's gunfire, a Palestinian Health Ministry statement said.

Witnesses told Anadolu that an Israeli special force, disguised in civilian clothing, invaded the Old City of Nablus.

“The special force entered the Old City and arrested a young man, after which the occupation army sent military reinforcements to support the special unit,” the witnesses added.

The official Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that special units raided the Qaryoun neighborhood in Nablus Old City and fired tear gas.

Over the past few years, the Israeli military has conducted regular raids in the West Bank, which have escalated with the beginning of the war on Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023. Palestinians have also been violently attacked by illegal Israeli settlers.

At least 760 Palestinians have since been killed and over 6,250 others injured by Israeli army fire in the occupied territory, according to the Health Ministry.

The escalation follows a landmark opinion last July by the International Court of Justice that declared Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestinian land “illegal” and demanded the evacuation of all existing settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala