The family of 14-year-old Jad Jihad, from al-Far'a refugee camp in Tubas, northern West Bank, was devastated when they saw a video of him being shot by Israeli soldiers on 16 November.

The video, which circulated widely on social media, depicts the boy, after being shot in the leg, moving on the ground and raising his head several times. The soldiers stood around Jad, watching him bleed without intervening, and even prevented ambulances from reaching him.

After an hour, with Jad still bleeding, the soldiers gathered around him and took him to an unknown location. Then came the shocking news for the family: Jad had died from his wounds.

According to a report by the Shireen Observatory, a volunteer statistical centre run by journalists who were colleagues of Shireen Abu Akleh, a Palestinian-American journalist killed by Israel, Israel killed 51 children in the occupied West Bank during 2025, making it the deadliest year for Palestinian children.

Moreover, Israel is withholding the bodies of 17 of these children who were killed since the beginning of the year, refusing to return them to their families.

Worsening conditions

Qusay, Jad's brother, told The New Arab that his brother was playing billiards with his friends at a club when the Israeli army stormed the camp. Jad tried to return home, but before he could reach it, soldiers surrounded him and shot him at point-blank range.

He was hit in the leg and fell to the ground. Residents of the camp were able to see him from their rooftops, including his mother, who recognised him by his clothes. She watched him writhing in pain on the ground, unable to reach him, weeping bitterly.

"When the soldiers moved him, we were relieved, thinking they would get him medical attention after preventing the Palestinian ambulance from reaching him for over an hour. But unfortunately, we were wrong. He was subjected to deliberate medical neglect until his last breath," Qusay added.

What also pains the family is the continued detention of his body without any justification after his senseless killing. Israel refuses to hand over the body to his family without providing any explanation. This also includes preventing the family from seeing the body or even knowing its location.

"Not being able to say goodbye to him and not having a grave to visit and commemorate him is painful for us, especially for my mother. She cries day and night and speaks of nothing but Jad. Their refusal to hand over the body makes us feel they are lying about his death. But what if he really is dead? What if he is still alive? A thousand questions worry us," he concluded.

Jad was a beloved figure in the camp, cheerful and energetic, and he loved helping people, especially the elderly, buying their things and refusing anything in return. His friends used to stand in front of his house calling out to him, but now they pass by with deep sorrow, having lost him forever.

Emily Wight, Global Media Manager at Save the Children, told TNA that the general trends of increasing violence from Israeli soldiers and settlers are significantly impacting children. This includes military detention, home demolitions, displacement of families, harassment by Israeli forces or settlers and intimidation, including on the way to and during school.

According to OCHA, between 7 October 2023 and 11 November 2025, 995 Palestinians—among them at least 219 children—were killed in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. One in every five Palestinians killed by Israeli forces so far in 2025 across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was a child, according to the UN.

"Children across the West Bank are also facing threats to their education, with ongoing movement restrictions and violence from Israeli military forces and settlers," Wight said.

Just two weeks ago, Save the Children was forced to halt its remedial education classes and child protection work, including mental health support, in some areas of the northern occupied West Bank, putting critical support out of reach for over 700 children, as she explained.

"Since the beginning of 2025, the humanitarian situation in the West Bank has deteriorated significantly. Israeli forces and settlers are dismantling and obstructing vital humanitarian aid. Restrictions on aid, settler violence, demolitions, land confiscation, and the destruction of essential infrastructure, including donor-funded infrastructure, are creating a coercive environment that is making daily life unlivable for Palestinian communities," she added.

"More resolutions are not enough—Palestinian children and families need action. Without adherence to international law, Palestinian children will continue to be deprived of their rights and safety," she concluded.

Cold-blooded executions

Another tragedy befell the Abu Seifen family from the town of Yamoun, west of Jenin, on 6 November. Fifteen-year-old Murad Abu Seifen was on his way to buy medicine for his father from the pharmacy when the Israeli army suddenly stormed the town.

Several soldiers surrounded the boy near the pharmacy and shot him three times, directly in the head. He fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

His brother, Fadi, told TNA that a local shop owner showed them a video recorded by the shop's security camera that depicts the soldiers executing his brother. After he was shot, six soldiers surrounded him and fired a fourth bullet into his head before he died. Then they brought an explosive device, placed it on top of his body, and detonated it for no apparent reason.

Later, soldiers stormed the shop and destroyed all its contents, including the security cameras. They demanded the owner hand over all the recordings under threat, in an attempt to cover up their crime, even though the video hadn't been widely circulated and was only seen by family members.

Murad lay on the ground for an hour after being shot and killed, with no paramedics allowed to reach him. The soldiers then took his body to an unknown location and are still holding it without any justification.

"Murad was the youngest in the family, and everyone loved him. He had a joyful childhood. All his siblings are at least 15 years older than him, so he was the most special child in the house. But they took him from us and killed him for no reason," Fadi added.

The family feels this is all a nightmare. There's no confirmation of his death because his body is being held, and his family is being prevented from seeing it.

Policy of free rein

Of the 761 Palestinians killed by Israel and whose bodies are being held by Israeli authorities, 74 are children under the age of 18.

Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicates that 2025 saw a dangerous increase in the number of Palestinian children killed by Israel or settler violence in the occupied West Bank, and that hundreds more were injured, many by live ammunition, in what constitutes "excessive and unnecessary use of force."

The report shows that a significant portion of the killings and injuries of children didn't occur within the context of combat or exchanges of fire, but rather during arrest operations, searches, or what is known as "military law enforcement."

This raises serious questions about the extent to which international humanitarian law and the right to protection for civilians, especially children, are respected in the occupied territories.

Khaled Quzmar, Vice President of Defence for Children International, told TNA that what they documented in the West Bank indicates that the escalation in child killings is a result of the policy of granting Israeli soldiers and settlers free rein, without accountability or oversight.

"We see the reflection of this in the large number of child martyrs compared to previous years, as the Palestinian child's right to life is no longer guaranteed and is systematically violated without any accountability, even though Israel is obligated to provide protection for children. It has not only failed to fulfil this role but has also provided cover for the perpetrators," Quzmar explained.

The right to life is the fundamental right that children in Palestine are striving to obtain, according to the Defence for Children International movement. As in Africa, the challenges of famine and poverty exist, while child labour is a significant issue in Latin America. However, in Palestine, the right to life is systematically violated without any accountability for soldiers or settlers.

"Every year is more difficult than the last, and no change has occurred despite all the international resolutions from the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Israel continues to provide impunity and protection as long as it has free rein to use live ammunition and kill in the upper body," he added.