Israeli soldiers opened fire on a vehicle carrying a family in the northern West Bank, resulting in the death of four individuals, including two children, as reported by the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry. The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service stated that Ali and Waed Odeh, along with two of their four children, sustained fatal gunshot wounds. The remaining children exhibited shrapnel injuries that were treated by first responders once they were permitted access, with allegations made against Israel for delaying the arrival of ambulances to the scene.
In a joint statement, Israel’s military and police explained that the gunfire occurred after a car accelerated towards them in Tammun while they were pursuing suspects linked to “terrorist activity.” The incident is currently under investigation. Najah al-Subhi, who tragically lost her son and grandchildren, shared with The Associated Press that the family had gone to a mall in Nablus to purchase clothes for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan. The surviving children sustained shrapnel wounds to the eye and head.
Tammun’s mayor, Sameer Basharat, learned about the Odeh family’s ordeal during the night, highlighting that their vehicle was shot in the town’s center, an area where the Israeli army maintains a constant military presence. Tammun, which has been under Israeli occupation for over a year following an offensive in the northern West Bank, has faced additional challenges such as evictions, restricted access to farmland, and land seizures for fence construction in the Jordan Valley.
Moreover, the town has experienced frequent raids and road closures, impacting the daily lives and livelihoods of its residents. The Israeli rights group B’tselem reported that the Odeh family’s vehicle was extensively hit by bullets, and Israeli forces subjected one of the injured surviving children to aggressive interrogation. The group criticized the lack of accountability mechanisms for those responsible.
According to Yesh Din, an Israeli rights group, Israeli soldiers accused of harming Palestinians are seldom held accountable, with less than one percent of cases resulting in indictments based on over 2,400 complaints filed between 2016 and 2024. The Odeh family members join a list of casualties in the occupied West Bank, where previous incidents involved Israeli settlers and soldiers fatally shooting at least eight Palestinians since the beginning of the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.
Following the Israel-U.S. offensive against Iran, movement restrictions have been imposed across the West Bank, including intermittent closures of gates and checkpoints, hindering the movement of residents, ambulances, and commercial traffic. Yesh Din documented numerous incidents of settler violence in Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank since the conflict’s onset. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs recorded 18 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank in the early months of 2026, including eight by Israeli settlers.
