Palestinian children caught in escalating West Bank violence

WEST BANK: For Alia al-Hallaq, the loss of her nine-year-old son Mohammed has not changed the way she counts her children.

She still considers herself a mother of five.

Mohammed was killed by an Israeli army bullet in October last year in the southern occupied West Bank. His mother says she still struggles to accept that he is gone, often sitting near his grave and crying quietly so her other children do not see her grief.

“I still haven’t accepted the idea of the loss,” she told AFP.

Mohammed’s death is one of hundreds of cases involving Palestinian children and teenagers killed in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.

According to Israeli rights group B’Tselem, 235 Palestinian children and teenagers were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank between October 7, 2023 and June 2026, including five who were killed by Israeli settlers. A Palestinian government body, the Colonisation and Wall Resistance Commission, puts the figure at 250.

The figures highlight a sharp increase compared with previous years. B’Tselem recorded an average of roughly one Palestinian child or teenager killed by Israeli forces every month between 2005 and 2021. Since October 2023, its figures indicate an average of about seven children or teenagers killed each month.

The United Nations has also reported continuing deadly violence against Palestinian children. As of August 10, 18 children were among 76 Palestinians killed in the West Bank in 2026 by Israeli forces or settlers, according to the UN.

From stones to bullets

The circumstances surrounding the deaths vary.

Some teenagers have been killed during confrontations involving Palestinian youths throwing stones at Israeli forces. Israeli officials have described such incidents as attacks on soldiers, while Palestinian witnesses and rights groups have raised concerns over the use of live ammunition.

Israeli military commander for the West Bank Major General Avi Bluth said earlier this year that the army had killed 42 Palestinians for throwing stones in 2025, without specifying how many were minors.

But some of the youngest victims were not involved in confrontations at all.

Seven-month-old Sam Abu Haikal was shot in the face in Hebron in June 2026 while sitting on his mother’s lap inside a car. His mother, Dania Abu Haikal, was also wounded in the shooting.

The Israeli military said a soldier opened fire after the vehicle accelerated toward troops, describing the occupants as “uninvolved civilians”. Abu Haikal disputes that account and says her husband had stopped the vehicle before soldiers fired.

For the grieving mother, the explanation has not eased the pain.

“Why would anyone shoot an infant?” she asked AFP.

She said she continues to seek a full investigation and justice for her only child.

Her story echoes that of many Palestinian families who say they have lost children without seeing meaningful accountability.

Meanwhile, violence continues across the West Bank. A recent UN report documented the killing of Palestinian children in Israeli military operations and settler attacks, alongside dozens of injuries during August.

For families like the Hallaqs and Abu Haikals, the statistics are more than numbers. Each figure represents a child whose place at the family table is now empty — and a mother left asking why.