Israeli army kills Palestinian child during West Bank refugee camp storming

A 15-year-old Palestinian was killed by Israeli fire in the illegally occupied West Bank on Tuesday after Israeli forces stormed a refugee camp near Nablus.

The Palestinian health ministry said Imad Khaled Saleh Hashash died after sustaining a gunshot wound to the head in the Balata refugee camp.

Ahmad Jibril, who leads the Palestinian Red Crescent's emergency department in Nablus told Palestine's official Wafa news agency Tel Aviv's security fired on the boy as they stormed the area for arrest purposes.

There is some dispute as to Hashash's age in reporting, with Wafa listing it as 16.

He was urgently brought to Rafidia Surgical Hospital, Palestine's health ministry said. Not long following this, the boy was then declared to be deceased.

The Israeli army said it had conducted an overnight operation in the camp to apprehend "a suspect".

It claimed in a statement: "During the mission, live ammunition was fired at troops from rooftops. The troops responded with fire towards the sources of the shooting".

The army alleged a "riot" then broke out, claiming residents hurling blocks and other objects from rooftops at Israeli soldiers.

"During the riot, a number of soldiers spotted a suspect on a rooftop holding a large object in his hands, attempting to throw it at an [Israeli] soldier standing underneath the building.

Palestinian Prisoners Club spokesperson told @alaraby_ar that a child was among those arrested. 👇 #Palestine #Israel #WestBank #Jerusalemhttps://t.co/FsNHf3dvmr

— The New Arab (@The_NewArab) June 2, 2021

"One of the soldiers responded with live fire and a hit was identified," the statement added, without commenting directly on the teenager's death.

Israeli forces commonly shoot dead Palestinians, including children, in the West Bank.

Over the course of a one-week span last month, three Palestinian children died in this way, with Save the Children issuing a statement strongly criticising Israeli security following this.