A 10-year-old Palestinian boy was shot dead by Israeli soldiers on Thursday during an operation in a village south of Hebron, deepening concern over the growing number of casualties in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military said troops opened fire after facing “confrontations and rock-hurling” in the village of al-Rihiya. But local residents insist the shooting was unprovoked, saying the boy, Muhammad al-Hallaq, had been playing football with friends before troops arrived.
“It’s normal, they were afraid and ran back towards the village,” said the parent of another child who witnessed the shooting, speaking to the BBC. “There was no threat, no provocation. Nothing.”
According to witnesses, a soldier fired “erratically” from the back of a military vehicle as children ran. Muhammad was struck in the pelvis and rushed to a nearby hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.
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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that its soldiers “responded with fire toward the suspects in the rock-hurling” and confirmed that “hits were identified.” No Israeli soldiers were injured, it added, saying the incident is being reviewed.
However, Israel’s Kan news website reported that a preliminary internal probe found the shooting violated the army’s rules of engagement. The battalion commander allegedly described the gunfire as “improper use of weaponry” and noted it was the second such incident within the same company. When asked about the report, the IDF declined to comment.
Footage circulated online showed large crowds surrounding an ambulance as Muhammad’s body was returned to his home village. His parents kissed his face before burial later that night.
In an interview with the Palestinian Maan news agency, Muhammad’s mother said he had been excited about his new school backpack earlier in the day. “He loved birds, and he wanted to be a heart doctor,” she said tearfully. “He always got excellent grades.”
The killing comes amid the ending of the initial part of Phase one of Trump’s peace plan. On the same day, Israeli forces shot dead Mahdi Kmeil, a 20-year-old man in the northern town of Qabatiya near Jenin, after the army said he threw an explosive device at troops.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly 200 Palestinians — including about 40 children — have been killed in the West Bank since the start of 2025, making it one of the deadliest years in recent memory.
Human rights groups have repeatedly urged Israel to review its open-fire policies in the West Bank, warning that lax enforcement encourages excessive use of force, particularly against minors.
