Ramallah, Occupied West Bank – Israeli forces have killed a 16-year-old Palestinian youth during a military raid on the city of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian health ministry identified her as Jana Majdi Zakarneh and announced her killing shortly after midnight on Monday (22:00 GMT).
Zakarneh was standing on the roof of her home when she was shot dead, according to local media. The ministry said she was shot in the head.
At least two other Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire during the raid, officials said.
Israeli special forces raided Jenin and its refugee camp at about 10pm (19:00 GMT) on Sunday and carried out arrests. Confrontations with Palestinian youth and clashes with Palestinian fighters broke out with the Israeli army.
The Israeli military said earlier in a statement it was “aware of the allegation of a Palestinian female’s killing” and was looking into the matter.
The Associated Press later reported that the Israeli military had acknowledged that its troops fatally shot a teenage Palestinian girl during an operation in the occupied West Bank, saying she was unintentionally hit by fire aimed at gunmen in the area.
In a statement, the Israeli military said an initial inquiry found the girl “was hit by unintentional fire aimed at armed gunmen” on a nearby rooftop. “It appears the girl who was killed had been on the roof of one of the houses near the gunmen,” it said.
The statement added the forces opened fire after local militants hurled firebombs and opened fire at the soldiers.
The army said that its commanders “regret any harm to uninvolved civilians”, but said that it would press ahead with its operations.
Atta Abu Rmeileh, a local official in Jenin, announced a general strike in Jenin on Monday in mourning of the Zakarneh. A funeral procession will be held for her later in the day.
Zakarneh is one of more than 50 Palestinian children killed by Israel so far this year in the occupied territories of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. She is also one of more than 215 Palestinians killed in total in 2022, including 17 women.
The United Nations has said 2022 has been the deadliest year for Palestinians in the West Bank since 2006.
Tensions on the ground have been boiling since last year. Israeli military raids and killings in Palestinian cities and villages are taking place on a near-daily basis, in parallel with a rise in Palestinian armed attacks, as well as an increase in settler attacks against Palestinians.
The raids have been particularly focused on the northern West Bank cities of Jenin and Nablus, where Palestinian armed resistance is growing.
On Thursday, Israeli forces killed four Palestinians during raids on Jenin and Ramallah, including a 15-year-old youth, Diaa Rimawi.
