Two Palestinians, one of them a 14-year-old boy, lost their lives in the West Bank under Israeli occupation on Tuesday due to gunfire from Israeli settlers and soldiers, as reported by witnesses. In Gaza, health officials confirmed two Palestinian fatalities from Israeli airstrikes.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the victims as 14-year-old Aws al-Naasan and 32-year-old Jihad Abu Naim, both killed during an attack by settlers on the village of al-Mughayyir that also left three others injured. Amin Abu Ulaya, the local council head, stated that settlers and soldiers entered the village and fired at a school, targeting students initially and then others who arrived at the scene.
The Israeli military responded by deploying forces to the area following reports of stones thrown at an Israeli vehicle carrying civilians and a reserve soldier. The soldiers engaged in dispersing what the military described as a violent confrontation.
The incident led to the deaths of a student and another person, according to Abu Ulaya, who described scenes of panic among parents rushing to the school to locate their children. This incident in al-Mughayyir, located approximately 25 kilometers north of Ramallah, is part of a series of violent acts against Palestinians by Israeli settlers and soldiers, as highlighted by human rights organizations.
Residents like Kathem Al-Haj-Ahmed from al-Mughayyir reported the settlers’ aggression, emphasizing the ongoing efforts to displace the village population by both the army and settlers. This village has been a hotspot for clashes between Palestinians and Israeli settlers, with numerous attacks reported in 2025, including shootings, arson, and vandalism.
The surge in West Bank settler violence has drawn condemnation from some Israeli officials, although others have supported the settlers and advocated for settlement expansion. The expansion of settlements in the West Bank, deemed illegal by the majority of countries and the United Nations, has escalated under the current right-wing Israeli government, with around 700,000 Jewish settlers residing alongside 2.7 million Palestinians in the region.
In al-Mughayyir, where much of the land has been confiscated or destroyed, including the killing of Mohammed Naasan in January, Aws al-Naasan and Jihad Abu Naim are the latest casualties this year in the occupied West Bank. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 240 Palestinian deaths in the territory last year, with the majority attributed to Israeli military actions and nine to settlers.
Concerns have been raised by rights groups over the blurred lines between settlers and soldiers engaging in violence against Palestinians, with reports of “settler-soldiers” increasingly involved in lethal acts. Groups like Yesh Din have highlighted incidents where settlers, some linked to ideologically motivated offenses, have exploited their access to military equipment to target Palestinians. Investigations into such incidents are ongoing to address the escalating violence in the region.