Israeli Forces Kill Two Palestinians in West Bank and Gaza

Israeli forces have killed at least two Palestinians in separate shooting incidents in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

In a statement on Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry announced the death of 32-year-old Mustafa Taha Mustafa al-Khatib “at dawn today after being shot by Israeli occupation forces in Salfit”.

Al-Khatib was killed after Israeli forces stormed his home and shot him dead, local sources told news agencies.

His family told the Anadolu news agency that al-Khatib had returned from Jordan two years ago to work and had no known security or armed group affiliation.

His uncle Yassin Khatib described the killing as a “cold-blooded execution”.

“From the broken door and the damaged contents of the room, it was obvious they [Israeli forces] forced their way in without giving [al-Khatib] him time even to open the door or get dressed,” Yassin Khatib told Anadolu.

He said his nephew, who held both Jordanian and Palestinian citizenship, had lived on the property for four years, working in agriculture and construction.

Relatives said Israeli troops prevented ambulances from reaching al-Khatib for nearly two hours.

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said Israeli forces left his body inside the house after ransacking it.

The Israeli military told the AFP news agency that its troops had fired at someone “throwing objects” at soldiers during a raid in the area.

The killing came alongside separate settler violence in Halhul, north of Hebron, where residents said Israeli settlers pelted Palestinian homes with stones after the dismantling of a nearby outpost. A local resident told Israeli news outlet Haaretz he saw about 35 masked settlers throwing stones at houses and trying to start fires.

The violence came a day after another Palestinian, Mohammad Nazem Zayed, was killed in Yabad, west of Jenin, after Israeli undercover agents besieged a house and shot him inside.

One killed in Gaza

At the same time, Israeli attacks have not ceased in Gaza, despite a so-called “ceasefire” agreed in October.

In northern Gaza, one Palestinian was killed after Israeli troops opened fire in the al-Atatra area of Beit Lahiya on Thursday, Anadolu reported.

The deceased was transferred to al-Shifa Medical Complex, medical sources said.

A separate drone strike hit a group of pedestrians near the Italian Complex in Gaza City’s Nassr neighbourhood, wounding two people, one critically.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says Israeli violations of the ceasefire, which took effect on October 10, 2025, have already killed 1,031 Palestinians and injured 3309 others. In total, since Israel’s genocidal war began in October 2023, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza.

At the same time, violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank has escalated sharply since Israel launched its genocidal war, with intensifying Israeli military raids and settler attacks on homes and property.

The Palestinian health ministry said al-Khatib’s death brought the number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since the beginning of the year to 72, including 17 children, five women, and two elderly people.