Israel Conflict: Two Palestinian Teens Killed by Israeli Forces in West Bank Raid Near Hebron
Israeli forces killed two Palestinian teenagers in the occupied West Bank town of Beit Ummar near the Karmei Tzur settlement on 22 June 2026 amid the ongoing Israel conflict. The victims were identified as 15-year-old Reda Sami Hassan Awad and 19-year-old Issa Arafat Ismail Awad. [2] They were shot near the illegal settlement, left bleeding for an extended period, and their bodies were seized by Israeli forces. [1] Two other Palestinians were injured by live fire in the same incident and hospitalized in stable condition. [1]
Killings in Beit Ummar
The Ramallah-based health ministry confirmed that 15-year-old Reda Sami Hassan Awad and 19-year-old Issa Arafat Ismail Awad were shot near the illegal Karmei Tzur settlement built on Palestinian land north of Hebron before succumbing to their injuries. [1] The ministry added that the two were left bleeding at the scene for an extended period before Palestinian medical teams were able to reach them after which Israeli forces seized their bodies. [1] Israeli forces fired at several Palestinian youth near the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tzur according to local reports. [2] Two others were also injured by live fire during confrontations in the same area and transferred to a hospital in Hebron where their condition was described as stable according to the health ministry. [1] The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said one of the wounded is 15 years old. [3] The bodies of the victims remain held in Israeli custody. [2] An extensive military search was subsequently conducted in the area. [2]
Israeli Military Account
The Israeli army claimed in a press statement that forces from Unit 636 opened fire on two individuals it claimed had thrown Molotov cocktails at the illegal Israeli settlement of Karmei Tzur. [1] It said both were killed at the scene with no Israeli casualties reported adding that troops searched the area for additional suspects. [1] The army said it opened fire at the group after they threw Molotov cocktails and set fire to the area near the settlement. [2] Reuters was unable to independently verify the Israeli military’s account. [3] It said its forces had shot at three people who were throwing fire bombs and burning tyres near the settlement Karmei Tzur. [3] One of the three was wounded and two killed the military said. [3] WAFA said the third person was hospitalized in a stable condition. [3]
Israeli forces conduct a raid in Hebron that killed two Palestinian teenagers in the West Bank. — Source: middleeasteye
Palestinian Reactions and Hamas Statement
Hamas mourned the two killed in Beit Ummar describing the incident as part of what it called Israel's "systematic policy of killing" in the occupied West Bank carried out in parallel with Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. [1] In a press statement Hamas said the increased Israeli violence would not break "the will of the resistance" calling for continued confrontation at points of contact with Israeli forces and settlers. [1] It warned that ongoing raids arrests and demolitions were aimed at "imposing new realities on the ground" arguing that such policies would only deepen instability rather than bring security. [1] Local media indicated that a comprehensive general strike was held in the town to protest the attack and killings. [2] The Palestinian health ministry announced that the latest killings raise the death toll from Israeli assaults in the West Bank to 70 since the start of this year including the killing of 17 children five women and two elderly people. [2] Over 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli troops and settlers in the occupied territory since Israel launched its genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip. [2]
Concurrent Operations in the West Bank
Elsewhere in the northern occupied West Bank Israeli forces raided the village of Kafr Qallil south of Nablus at dawn on Monday. [1] The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said in a press statement that its teams treated a 50-year-old woman for bruises after she was beaten during the raid before she was transferred to the hospital. [1] Residents said extensive house searches and material damage with no arrests confirmed. [1] In a separate development Israeli forces continued demolition operations across the West Bank. [1] Two inhabited homes were demolished in the Umm Rukba area south of al-Khader near Bethlehem under the pretext of lacking building permits according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission. [1] The Commission said in a press statement that the demolitions form part of a broader policy targeting Palestinian presence through repeated demolition orders and destruction of homes and structures. [1] In Kafr Aqab north of Jerusalem Israeli forces also demolished a residential house and an apartment building according to the Jerusalem Governorate which said the structures were also targeted for allegedly being built without permits. [1]
Israeli soldiers fatally shoot two Palestinian teenagers near Karmei Tzur settlement in West Bank. — Source: cyprusmail
Context of Escalating Violence
These developments come amid what Palestinian officials describe as an accelerating campaign of military operations and settlement expansion across the West Bank and East Jerusalem since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on 7 October 2023. [1] The occupied West Bank has witnessed a sharp rise in Israeli military activity and settler violence since October 2023 with Palestinian officials warning of the risk of a broader explosion. [1] More than 1,175 Palestinians have been killed and over 12,000 wounded during this period alongside around 23,000 arrests and widespread displacement. [1] According to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission Israeli forces and settlers carried out 1,659 attacks in May in the occupied West Bank alone including 1,108 by the army and 551 by settlers underscoring what officials describe as an expanding and increasingly coordinated pattern of violence across the territory. [1] In incidents involving settlers and the military at least 57 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the year according to U.N. data. [3] Palestinians have also carried out attacks on Israeli soldiers and settlers in the West Bank at least one of them deadly in 2026 according to Israel’s Shin Bet domestic security service. [3]
Settlement Expansion and International Perspectives
Israeli troops carry out frequent raids in the West Bank and have tightened movement restrictions in recent months on Palestinian villages that sit near settlements. [3] Following these recent raids local residents say that the ultimate goal is to expand settlement outposts shorten the distances between them and to permanently consolidate the settler presence across the West Bank. [2] U.N. bodies and most countries view Israel’s settlements as illegal under international law and a primary obstacle to Palestinian statehood. [3] Israel rejects this viewing the territory as disputed rather than occupied and saying a Jewish presence has existed there for thousands of years. [3] International organisations such as Amnesty International and the UN continue to draw attention to systematic ethnic cleansing campaigns against Palestinians in the occupied territory resulting in the forced expulsion of entire communities. [2] Attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their villages have also risen sharply. [3]
What to watch next: Israeli forces and settlers carried out 1,659 attacks in May in the occupied West Bank alone according to the Palestinian Wall and Settlement Resistance Commission while Palestinian health authorities reported over 1,100 Palestinians killed in the West Bank since October 2023.
