Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday, according to the Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry.
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The ministry identified the victim as 38-year-old Bahaa Abdel-Rahman Rashid, who was fatally struck by Israeli fire in the town of Odala, south of Nablus.
Earlier, the Palestinian Red Crescent reported responding to a man with a critical head injury sustained during clashes in Odala, noting that medics were performing CPR at the scene.
The Israeli military confirmed to AFP that its soldiers had opened fire during an operation in the area, saying troops “hit one person” after what it described as a violent confrontation in which “terrorists hurled rocks” at soldiers.
However, witnesses offered a differing account. Odala resident Muhammad al-Kharouf told AFP that Israeli troops were patrolling the town when they fired tear gas at men leaving a mosque following Friday prayers. Clashes ensued, during which Rashid was shot with live ammunition, he said.
The Israeli military on Friday also announced the completion of a two-week counter-terrorism operation in the northern West Bank, during which it said six militants were killed and dozens of suspects detained. It stated that Rashid was not among the six individuals it had identified as militants.
At Nablus’ Rafidia Hospital, dozens of men — including Rashid’s father — gathered to pay their respects, according to an AFP correspondent.
Violence in the West Bank has sharply escalated since Hamas’s October 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent Gaza war. The unrest has persisted despite a fragile truce declared in October.
According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry data, more than 1,000 Palestinians — including many militants as well as civilians — have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers in the West Bank since the Gaza war began.
Israeli figures indicate that at least 44 Israelis, both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during military operations over the same period.
