Israeli forces have shot and killed a two-year-old Palestinian girl as they step up large-scale military raids in the occupied West Bank, according to health officials.
In a statement, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Laila al-Khatib died of “critical wounds” after being shot in the head on Saturday by Israeli forces in the Martyrs’ Triangle area of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
Media reports said the girl’s pregnant mother was also lightly wounded in the attack.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident and that its troops opened fire on a building after receiving intelligence on the presence of Palestinian fighters.
Speaking to journalists on Sunday, al-Khatib’s grandmother said the family was having dinner when the incident took place.
“There was gunfire, and the windows were breaking. When the girls heard the gunfire, they started running inside. Her [al-Khatib’s] mother was feeding her [when] she got a bullet from the sniper in her head,” she said, adding that the girl was her mother’s only child.
The Israeli army has in recent years carried out multiple raids and incursions in Jenin, long seen as a symbol of Palestinian resistance. Its latest operation began only a day after a ceasefire took effect in the Gaza Strip, where some 15 months of Israeli attacks have killed more than 47,000 Palestinians.
Separately on Saturday, Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Ahmad Mahmoud Hashash, 42, also died of his wounds on Saturday after being shot by Israeli forces during a raid on Balata refugee camp in the central West Bank.
The ongoing military operation in Jenin and its adjacent refugee camp has killed at least 14 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. Dozens have been wounded while thousands have been forced from their homes.
Before the latest Israeli attacks began on Monday, the security forces of the Palestinian Authority, which exercises limited self-rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, carried out a weeks-long operation to reassert control in Jenin.
In addition to the loss of life, the Israeli army raids have caused widespread destruction, including the bulldozing of key roads and the demolition of houses.
Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers calling for an end to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, said last week that Jenin faced being “Gazafied” by the Israeli military, “complete with air strikes and destruction of infrastructure”.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation is aimed at eradicating “terrorism”.
