Israeli Forces Shoot Dead 14-Year-Old in West Bank, Say Palestinian Officials

08 November 2026, Palestinian Territories, Nablus: Israeli soldiers and military vehicles are seen during a raid on the Old City of Nablus. (dpa)

09:57-10 November 2026 AD ـ 30 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

08 November 2026, Palestinian Territories, Nablus: Israeli soldiers and military vehicles are seen during a raid on the Old City of Nablus. (dpa)

Israeli forces shot dead a 14-year-old in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said, with Israel saying it was responding to stone-throwing.

Moutaz Eyad Daghlas was killed in Burqa, northwest of Nablus, late on Monday, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The Palestine Red Crescent Society said its teams treated two people with gunshot wounds and took them to hospital, but that Israeli forces blocked access to a third wounded person and detained three volunteer paramedics.

The Israeli military, asked by AFP about the incident, said Tuesday it had acted to "thwart stone-hurling and terrorist attacks" in the area.

"The soldiers identified several terrorists who intended to hurl stones at a highway used by Israeli vehicles. This was in an area where stones have recently been hurled at Israeli vehicles," the military said.

"The soldiers responded by firing towards them in order to remove the threat."

Israeli forces have routinely opened live fire on Palestinians including minors who throw stones in the West Bank, which Israel has controlled since 1967.

The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said Israeli forces killed at least 241 children or teenagers in the territory between the October 7, 2023 attack by Gaza-based Hamas and late June this year.

Violence has increased in recent weeks, especially in the run-up to Israel's October 27 election, before which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had sought to appeal to hardline settlers in the West Bank.

On October 23, Palestinian gunmen killed two Israeli soldiers at a checkpoint near Hebron before being killed by Israeli forces, who later responded with a major operation in the flashpoint city.

Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 1,116 Palestinians, both civilians and gunmen, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian Authority figures.

Palestinian attacks or clashes between Palestinians and Israeli forces have killed at least 51 Israelis during the same period, according to official Israeli figures.

Embattled Pentagon Chief to Hold Rare News Conference

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth waits to welcome Britain's Defense Secretary Wes Streeting to the Pentagon during an arrival ceremony, Thursday, Oct 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

10:04-10 November 2026 AD ـ 30 Jumada Al-Ula 1448 AH

Embattled Pentagon Chief to Hold Rare News Conference

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth waits to welcome Britain's Defense Secretary Wes Streeting to the Pentagon during an arrival ceremony, Thursday, Oct 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will hold a rare news conference on Tuesday as he pushes back against congressional efforts to remove him from office for alleged misconduct.

Under pressure after President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance blamed the Iran war for the Republican Party's sweeping losses in midterm elections, Hegseth now faces impeachment proceedings in the House of Representatives.

"There's a lot of politically motivated people who...may have substantial policy disagreements, but their disagreements are with success," Hegseth told reporters on Monday when asked about efforts to remove him.

"I couldn't be more proud of what our president has done, the decisions that he's made, the courageous calls that he's made, the bold nature of our...military leadership, the skill and courage of the troops on the ground," he said.

The impeachment efforts are being spearheaded by Representative Thomas Massie, an anti-Trump Republican lawmaker who is leaving office after losing a primary contest to a candidate backed by the president.

Several of the articles of impeachment -- which Massie introduced on Monday -- relate to the Iran war, accusing Hegseth of violating the War Powers Resolution, which requires congressional consultation on and oversight of US military interventions.

Speaking to reporters Monday, Massie accused Hegseth of using "our troops to go seize oil for large corporations in America" and derided the Trump administration's refusal to acknowledge the bombing of a school in Iran.

"I mean, obviously we hit it, and you can determine what kind of missiles from the range and the kind of destruction there was. I don't think they're going to get out of that article of impeachment by saying, 'Oh, we don't know who bombed that school' -- although I think the president tried that for a day or two," Massie said.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., speaks outside of the Capitol about articles of impeachment he introduced against Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP)

- 'Sham' impeachment -

Hegseth is a staunch defender of the widely unpopular conflict in Iran, which he has described as a "courageous and historic effort."

He has previously dismissed Massie's "sham articles of impeachment" and equated the effort to remove him as Pentagon chief with past impeachments of Trump.

"It's all about the politics of personal destruction. Didn't work against President Trump, and it won't work with me," Hegseth said in a video message last week.

Trump threw his support behind Hegseth on Monday, declaring he had done a "good job" and "won" wars in Venezuela and Iran -- referring to the lightning raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in January, and the unresolved eight-month conflict with Tehran.

Asked what would happen if Hegseth is impeached, Trump told reporters: "Yeah, I'll stand by him."

Massie also branded strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as "extrajudicial killings" and said Hegseth "chilled independent legal review within the Department of Defense."

And he accused Hegseth of suppressing free speech by trying to punish Democratic Senator Mark Kelly over a video in which he and other lawmakers urged military and intelligence personnel to refuse illegal orders.

"Using the powers of his office, Secretary Hegseth retaliated against and sought to intimidate United States Senator Mark Kelly for his statement," one of the articles of impeachment said.

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