Description

Photos: Published by IMEMC News

Laila Mohammad Ayman Al-Khatib, 2.

Scene.

Laila Mohammad Ayman Khatib, two, was shot and killed by Israeli forces while she ate dinner with her family near Jenin on January 25. (Photo: Courtesy of the Khatib family) by Defense for Children International (DCI)
____

by IMEMC News
Jan 26, 2025

Israeli forces killed a 2-year-old Palestinian child and injured a woman, on Saturday, in the village of Ash-Shuhada, southwest of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank.

On Saturday night, the Palestinian Health Ministry announced the death of the child, Laila Mohammad Ayman Al-Khatib, 2, after Israeli forces shot her in the village of Ash-Shuhada.

Media sources said that an undercover Israeli unit infiltrated the village of Ash-Shuhada, on Saturday evening, and besieged a citizen’s home, sparking protests.

WAFA correspondent reported that military reinforcements stormed the village and demanded over loudspeakers that those inside evacuate the besieged home.

He added that occupation forces deployed sharpshooters in the village, detained several Palestinian young men, and subjected them to interrogation.

A short time later, media sources said that occupation forces shot a woman and a child with live ammunition during the military incursion into the village.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) reported that its ambulance crews transported a 2-year-old child to the hospital after she sustained a critical gunshot wound to the head.

The PRCS added that a Palestinian woman was shot in the hand with live ammunition and sustained shrapnel wounds to the head.
_____

Israeli forces fatally shoot 2-year-old Palestinian girl in the head near Jenin

by Defense for Children International (DCI)- Palestine
Jan 26, 2025

Ramallah, January 26, 2025—Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian toddler near Jenin last night.

Laila Mohammad Ayman Khatib, two, was shot and killed by Israeli forces around 8:30 p.m. on January 25 while she was in the living room in her family’s home in the Palestinian town of Muthallath Al-Shuhada, south of Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Laila was having dinner with her mother, grandparents, and aunts when sudden Israeli gunfire erupted without warning. Israeli forces fired four bullets through the living room window, one of which struck Laila in the back of the head. Laila’s grandfather carried her out of the house and brought her to Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where she received emergency surgery. Laila was pronounced dead around 10 p.m.

“Israeli forces regularly and routinely carry out military operations with complete contempt for Palestinian life,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability program director at DCIP. “Little Laila was having dinner with her family when Israeli forces, unprompted, fired live ammunition into their living room, killing her. It is outrageous that the Israeli military has been permitted by world leaders to kill Palestinian children with impunity in flagrant violations of international law.”

Laila’s mother and aunt sustained injuries from shrapnel during the attack, according to information collected by DCIP.

Laila Mohammad Ayman Khatib, two.Laila Mohammad Ayman Khatib, two.

When Laila’s grandfather exited the house carrying her, he saw Israeli snipers stationed in a Palestinian home across the street from their house. No residents of Muthallath Al-Shuhada were aware of an Israeli military presence at the time of the attack, and later learned that Israeli special forces had infiltrated the Palestinian home. Israeli forces remained in the town until about 11 p.m.

Jenin, its refugee camp, and the surrounding villages have been under an ongoing Israeli military attack dubbed “Operation Iron Wall” since January 21, 2025.

Since the beginning of Operation Iron Wall, 16 Palestinians have been killed, including Laila and 16-year-old Motaz Abu Tabeekh. This operation has also been accompanied by Israeli drone strikes, widespread destruction of infrastructure and homes in the Jenin refugee camp, and the bulldozing of roads. Additionally, hundreds of Palestinians families have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to the continued military assault.

Israeli forces have killed eight Palestinian children in the occupied West Bank in 2025, according to documentation collected by DCIP. Five children were killed by Israeli drone strikes and three children were shot and killed with live ammunition.