Israeli army gunfire kills Palestinian child in N. West Bank

RAMALLAH/GAZA - A Palestinian child was killed by Israeli forces in the city of Nablus in northern West Bank, Palestinian sources said Tuesday.

In a press statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 11-year-old Abdullah Hawash succumbed to critical injuries sustained during an incident in Nablus.

Local Palestinian sources told Xinhua that Israeli forces infiltrated the old city in a civilian car and opened fire on residents.

The sources added that the forces arrested a young man from inside his home, and the Israeli army later sent military reinforcements to the city.

The Israeli army has not yet commented on the incident.

Meanwhile, the Israeli army's spokesperson Avichay Adraee said Tuesday on social media platform X that at least 18 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members were killed on Oct 17 as the Israeli army targeted their gathering points in a command-and-control complex in an area that was previously Abu Hussein School in northern Gaza.

Israel has been launching a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip to retaliate against a Hamas rampage through the southern Israeli border on Oct 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and about 250 taken hostage.

The Palestinian death toll from ongoing Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip has risen to 42,718, Gaza-based health authorities said in a statement on Tuesday.

In the meantime, the West Bank has also witnessed an escalation since the onset of the Gaza war, having resulted in the killing of about 760 Palestinians by Israeli gunfire and shelling, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.