Two of the latest deaths were 16-year-old Ahmed Ashraf Hamidat and 17-year-old Mohammed Musa Al Bitar. “He was shot while running away from about 70 meters away.” CCTV footage shows stones and Molotov cocktails being thrown at an Israeli military base outside a settlement near Aqabat Jaber,” the Office of the OHCHR High Commissioner said.
The deaths of the young men, along with four more Palestinians killed by Israeli troops on Monday after a Hamas-led terror attack in southern Israel triggered a war in the Gaza Strip, brought the Palestinian death toll to 505, OHCHR said.
During the same period, 24 Israelis, including eight members of the Israeli security forces, were killed in clashes or alleged attacks by West Bank Palestinians in the West Bank and Israel.
‘Unprecedented bloodshed’
“As if the tragic events that have occurred in Israel and the Gaza Strip over the past eight months are not enough, residents of the occupied West Bank are also experiencing unprecedented bloodshed every day. It is unfathomable that so many lives were lost in such a ruthless manner.“said the High Commissioner.
“The killings, destruction and widespread human rights violations are unacceptable and must stop immediately. Israel must adopt and implement rules of engagement that are fully consistent with applicable human rights norms and standards,” Mr. Turkey continued. “Allegations of unlawful killings must be thoroughly and independently investigated; Those in charge are responsible..”
Deadly force, first resort
The UN human rights chief noted that killings of Palestinians had already reached ‘record highs’ in the first nine months of last year, and had increased ‘sharply’ since the October 7 attack by Hamas-led fighters that killed an estimated 1,250 people. More than 250 people were taken hostage.
“Nearly 200 Palestinians have been killed by the ISF since the beginning of 2024,” the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said in a statement. “This compares to 113 and 50 killed in the same periods in 2023 and 2022, respectively.” .
And despite the absence of armed hostilities in the occupied West Bank, the ISF has carried out at least 29 operations “including airstrikes by unmanned aerial vehicles or planes and the launch of surface-to-surface missiles against refugee camps and other populated areas.” It continued.
164 Palestinians were killed in this operation. Includes 35 childrenAccording to OHCHR, there are ‘many’ Palestinian victims who were shot in the upper body and refused medical assistance.
This “implies the gradual use of force and the intent to kill in violation of the right to life, rather than an attempt to de-escalate a tense situation…unless the shooting clearly represents an imminent threat to life,” the UN rights say. The office said.
