An 18-year-old Palestinian youth has lost his life on Thursday night during an Israeli Army operation in the town of Beitín, located east of Ramala, in the occupied West Bank, during which clashes were registered between Israeli soldiers and local inhabitants.
The deceased, identified as Haizam Ezedine Omar Hmeida, 18 years old, reportedly died from shots fired by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), who are holding his body, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and disseminated by the official news agency Wafa.
According to this agency, the incursion began when IDF forces entered Beitín, provoking confrontations with residents that led to the use of live fire, tear gas, and stun grenades, in addition to a fire in nearby agricultural land, according to local sources cited by the outlet.
The Israeli Army has confirmed the "elimination" of a "terrorist" who, according to a message disseminated on social media, "threw Molotov cocktails towards a main road near the town of Beitín."
"During a focused operation by forces of Unit 636 in the area of the town of Beitín, in the Benjamin Brigade, the combatants recently identified several terrorists who threw incendiary bottles towards Israeli vehicles on a main road," the IDF spokesperson indicated, adding that the combatants "fired at the terrorists and eliminated one of them."
Immediately after, the Israeli military command stated that its troops "are pursuing the remaining terrorists," while emphasizing that they will continue to act to "prevent terrorism and protect the security of the residents in the area."