Palestinian Ministry Says Israeli Troops Kill 2 Children, Parents in West Bank

A Palestinian flag is placed at the site where a Jewish settlers' attack killed 3 Palestinians and injured seven others on March 8, in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on March 12, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian flag is placed at the site where a Jewish settlers' attack killed 3 Palestinians and injured seven others on March 8, in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on March 12, 2026. (AFP)
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Palestinian Ministry Says Israeli Troops Kill 2 Children, Parents in West Bank

A Palestinian flag is placed at the site where a Jewish settlers' attack killed 3 Palestinians and injured seven others on March 8, in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on March 12, 2026. (AFP)
A Palestinian flag is placed at the site where a Jewish settlers' attack killed 3 Palestinians and injured seven others on March 8, in the village of Abu Falah, northeast of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on March 12, 2026. (AFP)

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian husband and wife and their two young children in the north of the occupied West Bank on Sunday.

The Palestinian Red Crescent also said its teams had recovered the bodies of two adults and two children from a vehicle that had been fired on by Israeli forces in the town of Tammun.

The Israeli military said it was looking into reports of the incident in response to AFP's request for comment.

The Ramallah-based Palestinian health ministry said in a statement that "four martyrs from one family arrived at the Turkish Public Hospital in Tubas after the occupation army shot at them in Tammun".

It said the hospital had received the bodies of the man, aged 37, the woman, 35, and two boys aged five and seven, adding that all had gunshot wounds.

The Palestinian news agency WAFA reported that the couple's two other children, aged eight and 11, were wounded by shrapnel after Israeli forces opened fire on their vehicle early on Sunday morning.

Palestinian authorities and the United Nations say there has been a spike in deadly attacks, mostly by Israeli settlers, in the West Bank in recent days, with at least five Palestinians killed since the start of March.

Israel's military launched an operation in November against Palestinian armed groups in the north of the West Bank, including areas around Tubas.

More broadly, violence in the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, has risen sharply since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war. It has continued despite a ceasefire since October 10.

According to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures, Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,045 Palestinians -- many of them fighters, but also scores of civilians -- in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war.

Official Israeli figures say that 45 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or during Israeli military operations.

In addition to roughly three million Palestinians, more than 500,000 Israelis live in settlements and outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law.



Israel to Allocate $338 Million for West Bank Settlement Expansion, Rights Group Says

FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
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Israel to Allocate $338 Million for West Bank Settlement Expansion, Rights Group Says

FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A general view picture shows the Israeli settlement of Efrat in the Gush Etzion settlement block as Bethlehem is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo

Israel is expected to approve on ‌Thursday the allocation of 1 billion shekels ($337.8 million) to build new settlements and connect them to infrastructure in the occupied West Bank, Israeli anti-settlement group Peace Now said.

The plan is being promoted by Israel's far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich, a proponent of Israeli settlement expansion who has said he wants to bury the idea of Palestinian statehood, reported Reuters.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet schedule, ministers are expected to discuss the establishment of temporary sites that have already been approved in the West Bank.

The schedule did not say whether ‌the ministers would ‌approve new funding. Netanyahu's office did not immediately ‌respond ⁠to a request for ⁠comment.

FUNDING FOR ROADS, WATER, RIGHTS GROUP SAYS

About 700,000 Israeli settlers live among 2.7 million Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. Israel annexed East Jerusalem in 1980, a move not recognized by most countries, but has not formally extended sovereignty over the West Bank.

UN bodies and most countries view the West Bank settlements as ⁠illegal, citing international conventions. Israel disputes this, saying ‌a Jewish presence has existed ‌in the West Bank for thousands of years.

In a statement, Peace Now said ‌the cabinet vote would bypass the standard settlement planning process. ‌It said the settlements in question had been approved by Netanyahu's government over the past three years.

Both Peace Now and the news website Axios, citing a draft resolution, said the allocation of funds would include construction of ‌infrastructure such as access roads, land preparation, sewage systems, water connections and related works, as well as ⁠temporary residential ⁠compounds.

A spokesperson for Smotrich, the finance minister, did not provide specifics but said the cabinet vote would strengthen Israeli settlements and that these are not new settlements, but rather existing sites. Smotrich last week announced a major expansion by more than 2,000 homes of three Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinians and many countries view the settlements as a primary obstacle to peace, saying they eat into West Bank land that could make up a potential State of Palestine. The expansion of settlements and smaller settler outposts has been accompanied in recent years by a rise in Israeli settler violence, with settlers staging sometimes deadly attacks on Palestinians.


All 3 Missing Indian Seafarers Dead after US Strike on Tanker Off Oman


An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
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All 3 Missing Indian Seafarers Dead after US Strike on Tanker Off Oman


An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)
An F-35B Lighting II, attached to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 121, prepares to take off from the flight deck of America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7), May 13, 2026. (US Navy photo)

All three missing Indian seafarers have died after a US military strike on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman, ⁠Indian Shipping Minister ⁠Sarbananda Sonoma said on Thursday.

The US said its military carried ⁠out a "precision" strike on the vessel that failed to follow its instructions and was carrying oil from Iran.

Indian sources told Reuters that ⁠New ⁠Delhi had summoned the US deputy chief of mission after lodging a "strong protest" on the strike.


Israeli Military Says Two 'Launches' Fall near Israeli Troops in Southern Lebanon

Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
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Israeli Military Says Two 'Launches' Fall near Israeli Troops in Southern Lebanon

Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Lebanese army remove the rubble of a house that was destroyed in the recent clashes between Hezbollah fighters and Israeli troops in Dibbine village, southeast Lebanon, Friday, June 5, 2026, a day after Israeli forces withdrew. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

The Israeli military said on Thursday that two "launches" were identified falling adjacent to an ‌area where ‌Israeli troops ‌are ⁠operating in southern ⁠Lebanon, after sirens sounded in several areas of northern Israel.

Earlier, the military ⁠said Home Front ‌Command ‌had issued a precautionary ‌directive after detecting "launches" ‌from Lebanon toward several communities in northern Israel, urging residents to ‌enter protected spaces.

More than three ⁠months ⁠since the US-Israeli attack on Iran ignited conflict around the Middle East, Lebanon remains a major frontline in the war.