Palestinians Say Israeli Troops Kill Teen in West Bank

A demonstrator brandishing a Palestinian national flag walks past Israeli troops, during confrontations with them following a protest against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the occupied-West Bank, in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim, on June 9, 2023. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A demonstrator brandishing a Palestinian national flag walks past Israeli troops, during confrontations with them following a protest against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the occupied-West Bank, in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim, on June 9, 2023. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians Say Israeli Troops Kill Teen in West Bank

A demonstrator brandishing a Palestinian national flag walks past Israeli troops, during confrontations with them following a protest against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the occupied-West Bank, in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim, on June 9, 2023. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A demonstrator brandishing a Palestinian national flag walks past Israeli troops, during confrontations with them following a protest against the expropriation of Palestinian land by Israel in the occupied-West Bank, in the village of Kfar Qaddum, near the Jewish settlement of Kedumim, on June 9, 2023. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces shot dead a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank city of Qalqilya Thursday, where the military reported that troops fired at rioters.

Israeli police, meanwhile, said an elderly Israeli man died after a carjacking near the same city.

Naeem Abdullah Samha, 15, was killed "by occupation (Israeli army) bullets" in Qalqilya, the Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah said in a statement, AFP reported.

The Palestinian official news agency Wafa, citing local sources, reported that Samha was shot in the chest.

He was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead of his wounds, Wafa said, which gave no reason for the shooting.

The military said troops had come under attack from rioters.

"A violent riot was instigated during army counterterrorism activity in the Qalqilya area during which suspects hurled stones and glass bottles toward the soldiers," a statement said.

It said soldiers "responded with fire. A hit was identified on one of the rioters."

In another development at the entrance to Qalqilya earlier on Thursday, a 78-year-old Israeli man was carjacked by several suspects and later died of his injuries, Israeli police said.

It is unclear if the two incidents in the area were connected.

The West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has for more than a year experienced a rise in deadly incidents, but particularly since the Israel-Hamas war erupted on October 7.

Israel has carried out near-daily raids in the West Bank in what it says is a bid to thwart militant groups.

At least 547 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli troops or settlers since the Israel-Hamas war broke out, according to Palestinian officials.

Attacks by Palestinians have killed at least 14 Israelis in the West Bank over the same period, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

The West Bank is home to about 490,000 Israeli settlers who live in communities considered illegal under international law.



US, Russia Issue Travel Advisories to Lebanon

Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR
Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR
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US, Russia Issue Travel Advisories to Lebanon

Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR
Smoke billows in the Israeli northern town of Metulla from cross-border rockets launched by Hezbollah from the Lebanese side, as seen from Khiam village, Lebanon, 26 June 2024. EPA/STR

The US embassy in Beirut issued a travel advisory on Thursday urging “US citizens to strongly reconsider travel to Lebanon”, citing a “complex security environment”.
“We remind US citizens to strongly reconsider travel to Lebanon. The security environment remains complex and can change quickly”, the embassy said on its website.
Russia’s embassy in Beirut has also called on its citizens to refrain from traveling to Lebanon until the situation settles down in the southern part of the country.
Earlier, several Arab and Western countries issued travel advisories calling on their citizens to refrain from traveling to the Mediterranean country.

Israel and Hezbollah have traded near-daily cross-border fire since the Hamas October 7 attack on Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip.
Tensions have been rising in recent days with growing exchanges of fire.