IDF gunfire killed 13-year-old Palestinian in West Bank, father says

A 13-year-old girl has been killed in clashes between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the West Bank, according to Palestinian sources.

The child was reportedly killed by gunfire from Israeli soldiers, said the Health Ministry in Ramallah.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it is investigating the incident.

Palestinian media reported that Israeli settlers entered a Palestinian village near the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank and attacked houses.

Clashes broke out with the residents and the Israeli army intervened with gunfire.

The child was said to have been in her room with her sisters when she was struck in the chest by the gunfire, the WAFA Palestinian news agency reported, citing her father. According to the report, she was later declared dead at the hospital.

The information could not initially be independently verified.

The situation in the West Bank has significantly worsened since the start of the Gaza war following the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023.

Since then, 663 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli military operations, confrontations or their own attacks, according to the Health Ministry in the West Bank.

Violence by extremist Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank has also increased.