Violence erupted during an Israeli search for a missing teenage boy in the occupied West Bank, leading to clashes between Palestinians and Jewish settlers. A Palestinian man was killed, and 25 others were injured as settlers armed with guns and stones stormed al-Mughayyir village near Ramallah. Israeli troops intervened, and the situation eventually calmed down. The 14-year-old boy, Benjamin Ahimeir, remains missing, prompting a large-scale search effort.
In separate incidents, Israeli forces shot and killed two Palestinians in the West Bank, one of whom was identified by Hamas as a local commander. The escalation in violence follows the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza, which began on October 7. Israel heightened its alert level after US officials warned of a potential Iranian strike in retaliation for an airstrike in Syria that targeted Iranian military figures.
The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that at least eight of the injured in al-Mughayyir were hit by live fire. The circumstances of the death of 26-year-old Jehad Abu Alia remain unclear. The Israeli army dispersed the settlers who entered the village and set up roadblocks for the ongoing search for the missing boy.
Since October 7, the Palestinian health ministry stated that Israeli forces or settlers have killed at least 460 Palestinians in the West Bank, while Israeli sources reported 13 Israeli deaths by Palestinians in the same period. The surge in violence prompted the US, UK, and France to impose sanctions on some settlers for the first time.
Despite the casualties in the West Bank, the toll in the Gaza conflict is significantly higher, with over 33,600 Gazans, mostly civilians, killed during Israel’s campaign, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Additionally, on October 7, gunmen took over 250 people hostage in Gaza, with Israel reporting casualties among the hostages.