Israeli Forces Kill 15-Year-Old Palestinian Boy During Raid in Nablus

Israeli forces carried out a raid in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Thursday, and Palestinian sources described a 15-year-old boy being shot and killed during the incursion.

WAFA said the teenager was a “15-year-old Palestinian boy” who was shot and killed on Thursday by “Israeli occupation forces” during their ongoing military incursion into Nablus, adding that he “succumbed to critical injuries after being struck by live ammunition in the shoulder.”

Al Jazeera

WAFA reported that Israeli forces “stormed the Rafidia neighborhood in Nablus” and opened gunfire in the “Beit Wazan area to the west,” critically wounding the boy before he was transported to a nearby hospital.

Roya News similarly said a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was killed Thursday after being shot by “’Israeli’ forces” during a raid on Nablus, and it cited medical sources at Nablus Specialized Hospital saying the minor, identified as Yousef Sameh Ishtayeh from the village of Tal, arrived “in critical condition after being struck by live ammunition in the chest.”

NST Online, citing the Palestinian Authority’s health ministry, said “15-year-old Youssef Sameh Shtayyeh was killed by the (Israeli) occupation's gunfire in Nablus,” and it reported that the Israeli military told AFP it was “looking into it.”

The incident unfolded amid a wider escalation described by multiple outlets, with France 24 reporting that “Rockets and missile exchanges occurred on Thursday between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in the Gaza Strip” after the raid in the West Bank.

France 24 also said that “these hostilities were followed late at night by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, followed by Israeli airstrikes at dawn” on territory controlled by Hamas since 2007.

Beyond the teen death, France 24 and multiple local outlets described the Nablus raid as the deadliest Israeli operation in the West Bank since at least 2005, with casualty figures tied to the Palestinian Authority and to Israeli statements.

France 24 said “Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed on Wednesday, and more than 80 others were shot and wounded during this military incursion in Nablus,” and it called it “the deadliest Israeli operation in the West Bank since 2005.”

Arab News PK

RTN.ch reported “Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed on Wednesday, and more than 80 people were shot during an Israeli military raid in Nablus,” and it added that the raid was “the deadliest operation carried out by the Israeli army in the occupied West Bank since at least 2005.”

Le Quotidien.lu similarly said “Ten Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed and more than 80 others were shot and injured during an Israeli military raid on Nablus,” attributing the count to the Palestinian Authority.

Le Quotidien.lu also stated that the Israeli army said it carried out “an anti-terrorist operation in the Palestinian autonomous area during which three suspects wanted and involved in armed attacks in the West Bank and planning attacks for an immediate future were neutralized.”

RTN.ch quoted an Israeli military spokesman, saying “We then intensified our efforts and rockets were fired at the house,” and it described the operation as lasting nearly four hours.

Le Quotidien.lu said the operation lasted “nearly four hours,” and it reported that “stones, explosive devices and Molotov cocktails were thrown at the soldiers, the army added, noting that none of them were injured.”

France 24 described how the Nablus raid was followed by exchanges between Israel and Palestinian armed groups in Gaza, with rocket launches and airstrikes occurring the next day.

“Violent clashes in Gaza after a deadly Israeli raid in the West Bank”

France 24

It said that “Before dawn on Thursday, several rockets — eight according to Palestinian witnesses, six according to the Israeli army — were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel,” and it reported that the launches were claimed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

France 24 added that Palestinian Islamic Jihad had called “the forces of resistance” to respond “without hesitation” to what it described as “the 'major crime' committed, in their view, by the Israeli army in Nablus.”

The Israeli army said it “intercepted five rockets with its air defense system,” and it “then carried out airstrikes against several targets in the Gaza Strip.”

France 24 reported that the strikes targeted “an 'arms manufacturing plant' and a 'military camp' both belonging to Hamas, the army said in a statement.”

It also said that “No casualties were immediately reported in this latest round of fighting.”

France 24 further described the sequence as “these hostilities were followed late at night by rocket fire from the Gaza Strip toward Israel, followed by Israeli airstrikes at dawn on this territory controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas since 2007.”

The reporting on the Nablus raid and Gaza exchanges included direct statements from senior officials and from Palestinian and Israeli political figures, alongside claims by armed groups.

France 24 said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged restraint, quoting him: “Our immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions and restore calm,” and it also cited his earlier warning that the situation was “the most volatile in years.”

La Côte

It reported that the European Union urged “all parties to work toward a return to calm and de-escalation of tensions,” and it said the United States was “extremely concerned” about the level of violence in the West Bank.

France 24 also included a French position, quoting the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning the violence and calling on “all actors to refrain from any action that could feed this cycle...”.

On the Israeli side, RTN.ch quoted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on X saying, “Tell every terrorist that we will reach them,” and it said he praised the “courage” of the Israeli forces in Nablus.

On the Palestinian side, RTN.ch quoted Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh denouncing a “premeditated and barbaric crime” and urging the international community to “intervene immediately.”

Armed group claims were also included, with France 24 saying “The Islamic Jihad said that one of its local commanders from its military wing was among the dead,” and RTN.ch adding that “According to the armed group Areen al-Oussoud ('Lion's Den'), based in Nablus, six fighters from different Palestinian factions are among the dead.”

While the Nablus raid is described across outlets with overlapping details, the reporting diverges on key numbers and on how the incident is framed, including whether the death toll is 10 or 11 and how the Gaza rocket counts are attributed.

“Ten Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed and more than 80 others were shot and injured during an Israeli military raid on Nablus, the scene of recurring deadly clashes in the northern occupied West Bank, according to the Palestinian Authority”

Le Quotidien.lu

Le Quotidien.lu said “Ten Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed,” while France 24 said “Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed,” and RTN.ch also said “Eleven Palestinians, including a 16-year-old, were killed.”

Le Quotidien.lu

The outlets also differ in the way they characterize the Israeli operation’s timing and duration, with Le Quotidien.lu describing an operation “which lasted nearly four hours,” while RTN.ch said the operation lasted “nearly four hours” as well but tied it to a specific sequence of surrounding a building, exchanges of fire, and rockets fired at the house.

On Gaza rocket launches, France 24 reported “eight according to Palestinian witnesses, six according to the Israeli army,” while it said the Israeli army “intercepted five rockets,” and it described the strikes as targeting “an 'arms manufacturing plant' and a 'military camp' both belonging to Hamas.”

The outlets also diverged on the teen’s injury location and identity details, with WAFA saying the boy was struck in the shoulder and died after being transported to a nearby hospital, while Roya News said the minor, identified as Yousef Sameh Ishtayeh from the village of Tal, arrived “in critical condition after being struck by live ammunition in the chest,” and NST Online said “15-year-old Youssef Sameh Shtayyeh” was killed by “occupation's gunfire in Nablus.”

Beyond the immediate raid, France 24 and RTN.ch both referenced an AFP tally for the broader conflict since October 2023, but RTN.ch gave a slightly different total phrasing, while France 24 used similar numbers in its own framing.

In the same vein, France 24 said the European Union urged de-escalation and that “No casualties were immediately reported in this latest round of fighting,” while the WAFA report focused on the Nablus teen death and did not mention Gaza casualties in its account.

The sources frame the immediate next steps around preventing further escalation and restoring calm, with international actors urging restraint after the Nablus raid and Gaza rocket exchanges.

France 24 reported that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Our immediate priority must be to prevent further escalation, reduce tensions and restore calm,” and it also quoted him warning that the situation was “the most volatile in years.”

It said the European Union urged “all parties to work toward a return to calm and de-escalation of tensions,” and it reported that the United States was “extremely concerned” about the level of violence in the West Bank.

France 24 also quoted the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemning the violence and calling on “all actors to refrain from any action that could feed this cycle...”.

In parallel, RTN.ch and Le Quotidien.lu included calls from Palestinian officials for international intervention, with RTN.ch quoting Hussein al-Sheikh denouncing a “premeditated and barbaric crime” and urging the international community to “intervene immediately.”

Le Quotidien.lu likewise said Hussein al-Sheikh denounced a “premeditated and barbaric criminal act” and called on the international community to “intervene immediately,” while also noting that the Arab League condemned “a horrible crime” and Jordanian diplomacy urged calm.

In the Gaza sequence, France 24 said “No casualties were immediately reported in this latest round of fighting,” but it still described the cycle of rocket fire and airstrikes as following the West Bank raid.