Israel kills two children in air strike in occupied West Bank
Israel has killed three Palestinians, including two children, in an air strike in the occupied West Bank town of Tammun on Wednesday.
Palestinian sources said the three victims of the attack near the city of Tubas in the north of the occupied territory were cousins.
They were named locally as 24-year-old Adam Bisharat, as well as Hamza Bisharat aged 10 and Reda, eight.
Two air strikes in Tammun within the past 24 hours have left five Palestinians dead.
Israeli media outlets said the attack, which targeted the yard outside the victims’ family, had “liquidated an armed Palestinian cell”.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Locals said the Israeli army arrived at the scene soon after the attack and seized the bodies of those killed, preventing Palestinian medical teams from attempting to administer medical aid.
Speaking to Middle East Eye, Obai Bisharat, the brother of Adam, said he was inside his family home when he heard the sound of an explosion outside.
He rushed outside to discover his brother and young cousins covered in blood without any signs of life.
"I tried moving them and to pull them away from the place but I was surprised by how fast the Israeli army stormed the area," Bisharat said.
"The soldiers pushed me away, took away my phone and forced me to the ground."
The soldiers then raided the house and assaulted its residents before making off with the body.
“I didn’t know that my brother and cousins were outside,” he said. “The children were playing in sunny weather.”
The house and nearby cars were also damaged during the attack, Obai Bisharat added.
‘Soldiers prevented us’
Palestinian medical sources told Middle East Eye that they rushed to the scene when they heard the explosion.
However, when ambulance driver Dhiyab Bani Odeh headed towards the scene he and his colleagues were prevented from advancing by Israeli soldiers.
"We could have reached them and perhaps rescued them, but the soldiers prevented us from approaching and stopped their military vehicles in our way.” Bani Odeh said.
“We tried to convince them to at least give us the children, but they refused and took them."
Three ambulances pursued the Israeli vehicles that were carrying the bodies of the dead in an attempt to retrieve them but to no avail.
Bani Odeh said this is not the first time that medics have been prevented from reaching the bodies of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks.
“If the target is someone whom the Israeli army suspects to be a member of the resistance or armed, we are absolutely prevented from reaching him, and if we succeed, we are interrogated,” he added.
Israel has been accused of attacking ambulances in recent weeks, as well as shooting at paramedics and storming hospitals.
Since the war on Gaza began in October 2023, Israel has carried out a simultaneous escalation of violence in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli army says it has launched 110 air strikes on the territory since October 2023, killing more than 200 Palestinians.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
