Israel kills 2 Palestinian boys in West Bank Raid

JERUSALEM — Two Palestinian boys, including an 8-year-old, were killed by Israeli military officials Wednesday during a military raid in the West Bank town of Jenin, Palestinian health officials said.

The circumstances of the boys’ shooting were unclear. Security camera footage showed what appear to be children gathered on a street. The children run away, while one boy remains standing until he falls to the ground and another appears to disappear next to a car. Health officials identified the boys as Adam Samer al-Ghoul, 8, and Basil Suleiman Abu al-Wafa, 15.

The video could not be independently verified. In a statement, the army said troops opened fire at suspects in the area who hurled explosives at them. “Hits were identified,” it said. The children in the video are not seen throwing objects, and the army did not say whether the young boys were suspected of throwing explosives.

Separately, the military said it had killed two wanted militants. They were identified as Mohammed Zubeidi, a senior Islamic Jihad operative, and Hussam Hanun, another Islamic Jihad operative. Zubeidi was wanted in two shootings in the West Bank last May, including an attack that killed an Israeli settler.

Violence in the West Bank has surged in the weeks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted, making this year the deadliest for Palestinians in the West Bank since the U.N. humanitarian agency began taking count in 2005. Israeli fire has killed more than 230 Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem between Oct. 7 and Nov. 28, according to the United Nations. Of those killed, 63 were children, including the two boys in Jenin on Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the war, Israeli forces have also arrested over 2,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, of which they say 1,100 are affiliated with Hamas.