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The Palestinian health ministry announced the killing of 54-year-old Ziad Mohammad Jaber by Israeli army gunfire in Umm al-Sharayet in the city of Al-Bireh near Ramallah with a spokesperson confirming he was pronounced dead upon arrival at hospital following the overnight operation. In the early hours the Palestine Red Crescent Society said its crews had treated a man suffering a critical gunshot wound to the abdomen and thigh at the scene before rushing him to medical facilities. The health ministry’s tally added to the growing number of fatalities in the occupied West Bank where according to United Nations reports more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since October 2023.
The Israeli military described the action as counterterrorism activity when contacted by AFP stating that a suspect attempted to seize a weapon from one of the soldiers during the raid in the area. The soldier responded by firing towards the suspect and a hit was identified the military added in its account of the sequence. No further details on the operation’s objectives were immediately released by Israeli authorities.
Ramadan Mohammad Jaber the victim’s brother told AFP that the military raided his home at around 4 am after blowing up the front door and that soldiers handcuffed him along with his daughter holding them in one room. He recounted that troops also blew up the door of the adjacent apartment where his brother lived before the shooting occurred. The brother said the incident left the family in shock as they waited for access to the wounded man.
“I heard him screaming but I did not hear the sound of gunfire” Ramadan Mohammad Jaber said according to the account he gave to AFP. He added that his brother was left bleeding in the apartment for about an hour and a half before the army allowed ambulance crews to take him to the hospital. A spokesperson for the Palestinian health ministry confirmed that the delay preceded the formal pronouncement of death at the facility.
The raid fits a pattern of frequent Israeli military operations across the West Bank which the Palestinian health ministry has tracked as contributing to elevated casualty figures throughout the past year. AFP reporting on similar incidents has highlighted discrepancies between Palestinian eyewitness statements and Israeli military descriptions of events on the ground. Local residents described the area as sealed off during the hours of the operation limiting independent verification.
Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 a situation that multiple international bodies including the United Nations have cited as the backdrop for recurring cycles of violence. Palestinian officials have called for investigations into the use of lethal force in such raids while the Israeli military has maintained that its forces act in response to immediate threats during counterterrorism efforts. The latest death brings renewed attention to the security dynamics in central West Bank districts such as those around Ramallah.
