Israeli Forces Kill Man in West Bank Raid Palestinians Say

Israeli forces killed a Palestinian man during a house raid in a town in the northern occupied West Bank on Wednesday, the Palestinian health ministry, a paramedic and a local resident said.

The health ministry said that the Palestinian body in charge of coordinating with Israeli authorities had notified it of the death of 29-year-old Mohammed Zayed, who was "shot dead by the occupation (Israeli) forces in Yamun".

The ministry added that Israeli forces had kept Zayed's body.

The military told AFP it was looking into reports of the man's death.

Sanad Abu Toul, a local resident whose family owns the house raided by Israeli forces, said the raid occurred around 12:30 pm local time (0930 GMT) and Zayed was killed as he tried to escape the premises the army had surrounded.

"Zayed tried to flee the house, but the soldiers shot him at close range in the yard of the house, even though they could have arrested him," Abu Toul told AFP.

Murad Khamayseh, a Palestinian paramedic who was dispatched to the scene, told AFP that the Palestinian Red Crescent received a call about the raid around 1:00 pm local time, and sent teams who were blocked by the army from reaching the besieged house.

"About an hour and a half after we arrived, we heard gunfire, and then local residents found traces of blood on the ground in the yard of the house," said Khamayseh.

Violence has escalated in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,083 Palestinians since then, including both gunmen and civilians, per an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, according to which 71 people were killed in 2026.

Official Israeli figures show at least 46 Israelis, both civilians and soldiers, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations in the same period.

aawsat.com