Around 9:30 p.m. in late February, a white Mazda pulled up near a game cafe in the Jenin refugee camp on the northern edge of the West Bank, where a crowd of boys and young men often gathered to socialize.
As the car stopped, a few people walked by on the narrow street. Two motorbikes weaved past in different directions. “Everything was fine at the time,” according to an eyewitness sitting nearby in the camp’s main square.
Then the car erupted in a ball of flame. Two missiles fired from an Israeli drone had hit the Mazda in quick succession, as shown in a video the Israeli Air Force posted that night.
According to the IAF, the strike killed Yasser Hanoun, described as “a wanted terrorist.”
But Hanoun was not the only fatality: 16-year old Said Raed Said Jaradat, who was near the vehicle when it was hit, sustained shrapnel wounds all over his body, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International-Palestine. He died from his injuries at 1 a.m. the next morning.
Jaradat is one of 24 children killed in Israel’s airstrikes on the West Bank since last summer, when the Israeli forces began deploying drones, planes, and helicopters to carry out attacks in the occupied territory for the first time in decades.
Map illustration: Fei Liu
The world’s attention has been on the Israeli campaign in Gaza, which has killed at least 36,000 people — including more than 15,000 children — and prompted accusations of genocide from U.N. officials and at the International Court of Justice. In the name of eliminating Hamas in retaliation for the attacks in October, the Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip continues.
But Israel has also transformed its tactics in the West Bank. Since June of last year, and with increasing regularity during the Gaza offensive, the Israel Defense Forces have shown a new willingness to use air power in the West Bank, regardless of the collateral damage to children and other civilians caught in the blasts.
An open-source Intercept investigation documented at least 37 Israeli airstrikes, drone strikes, and attacks by helicopter gunships in the West Bank since June 2023, which have killed 55 Palestinians, according to the United Nations. Most attacks struck densely populated urban areas and refugee camps in Jenin, Tulkarem, and Nablus, all in the northern part of the West Bank.
The Israeli military repeatedly stated on social media that the strikes were carried out to kill terrorists. But this investigation identified a different pattern: Nearly half of the people killed in the strikes were children.
Some of the children killed were throwing homemade explosives at Israeli troops, or were close to armed men when they were killed. Many were unarmed and uninvolved in any confrontations. Their ages ranged from 11 to 17.
The database of attacks was compiled using information published by news outlets, the Negotiations Affairs Department of the State of Palestine, and the Israeli military. The determination of whether children were killed in the process is based on publicly available information and documentation gathered by Defense for Children International-Palestine. The Israeli military did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the findings of this investigation.
“The Israeli military is far more concerned about protecting the lives of its soldiers than it is with protecting the lives of civilians.”
Many of these strikes are part of a broader Israeli campaign of targeted killings: assassinations of individuals by Israeli forces that, despite the name, often kill people who happen to be near the target at the time of the strike. Targeted killings, and these aerial attacks more broadly, are considered by some experts to be likely violations of international law.
“One of the things this says, which is not particularly surprising, is that the Israeli military is far more concerned about protecting the lives of its soldiers than it is with protecting the lives of civilians who may be killed when they drop bombs from the sky,” said Yousef Munayyer, head of the Palestine/Israel program and senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC.
The airstrikes began last June.
Ashraf Morad Mahmoud Al-Sa’di, 15, was killed by a drone strike — the first fatal strike documented in the West Bank since the Second Intifada — alongside two young Palestinian men in agricultural lands close to the Al-Jalameh military checkpoint, near the wall between Israel and the occupied territories. According to documentation collected by DCI-P, Al-Sa’di and the two men opened fire at Israeli military vehicles, and were later killed by a drone strike in their car.
After October 7, however, the pace of the airstrikes accelerated. Eight children, ages 11 to 17, were among over a dozen people killed in a series of drone, helicopter, and plane attacks on Jenin and the Nur Shams refugee camp late that month. In November, four children, ages 12 to 16, were killed over the course of seven drone strikes across the West Bank. On December 12, a strike killed a 17-year-old who was standing near three armed men.
Some of the children killed in the first months of airstrikes were described as armed or throwing homemade explosives at Israeli soldiers carrying out raids into the West Bank, according to DCI-P documentation.
In some cases, the activities of the children before their deaths remain unclear and unconfirmed by DCI-P.
However, towards the end of 2023, two unarmed and uninvolved children were targeted and killed by an Israeli drone strike during a raid on Nur Shams camp. The strike occurred on December 27 as part of one of 48 raids across the West Bank that day, where Israeli forces engaged with Palestinian fighters. Despite not being part of the confrontations, Hamza Ahmad Mostafa Hmaid, 16, and Ahmad Abdulrahman Issa Saleh, 17, were among the casualties.
This tragic incident was not isolated, as more unarmed and uninvolved children fell victim to Israeli missile strikes in subsequent attacks. The trend continued into 2024, with more casualties reported due to drone strikes and raids in Jenin and Tulkarem.
The increase in aerial attacks in the West Bank coincides with a rise in land incursions by Israeli forces, resulting in a high number of casualties, including children. The use of air power by the Israeli military in the West Bank had been prevalent during the Second Intifada, primarily for targeted killings.
Despite opposition to targeted assassinations by the U.S. government during the Second Intifada, the practice continues today, raising questions about the legality and accountability of such actions. The lack of trust in the investigation process following these incidents adds to the ongoing impunity for Israeli violations in the region. Partly, the evolving military tactics of both Israeli and Palestinian combatants have contributed to these events.
Israel’s recent campaign in the West Bank involves the use of armed drones for the first time since the Second Intifada, with the IDF announcing these strikes on social media as they occur. Palestinian fighters have shifted to ambush tactics and improvised explosive devices in response to Israeli military operations in the West Bank, leading to the increased use of air power.
The failure of the Palestinian Authority to control militant activity in the West Bank has also played a role in the surge of airstrikes. Israel claims that its actions in the West Bank are governed by the laws of armed conflict, but some experts argue that international human rights law should also apply.
Targeted killings are considered legal under the laws of armed conflict, but must be conducted according to these laws. There is a debate over whether humanitarian law and international human rights law both apply in the West Bank.
Some experts believe that the airstrikes may be in violation of international law, as they are likely not in compliance with Israel’s obligations under international law. The recent explosion in the Balata refugee camp highlights the ongoing tensions and conflicts in the region.
Currently, Balata camp is home to approximately 30,000 people.
The homes in Balata are densely packed together, with most of them receiving no direct sunlight, according to Ibrahim, a resident of the camp and staff member of a community center.
On a recent Israeli drone strike, a building in the center of the camp that served as the local headquarters for Fatah was the target. This resulted in the destruction of the building and the tragic death of five individuals, including 14-year-old Mohammad Musa Mohammad Msaimi.
Following the strike, several nearby homes were damaged beyond habitation, forcing their inhabitants to seek shelter with relatives or rent homes elsewhere in the camp.
Repairing or renting a new home is financially out of reach for most residents of Balata, as the economic situation was already challenging before the recent events. Unemployment rates were at 17 percent, and the situation has only worsened since the attack on October 7.
Due to the indefinite suspension of Palestinian workers’ permits by Israel, residents who previously worked on the Israeli side of the 1949 armistice lines are now unable to do so, creating a complete closure of economic opportunities for the camp’s residents.
The displacement and destruction witnessed in Balata are reflective of the broader challenges faced across the West Bank. The increase in violence by the Israeli army, particularly targeting refugee camps, has led to significant internal displacement and rendered many areas uninhabitable.
In addition to physical damage, air and drone strikes have a profound psychological impact on individuals. The escalation in violence has resulted in increased demand for psychosocial and financial support services for families in Nablus and other affected areas.
Children are particularly vulnerable to the psychological effects of the ongoing violence, as many are experiencing such events for the first time. The impact on mental health is widespread, with community-based organizations reporting a surge in the need for mental health and psychosocial support services.
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