The Israel Police are investigating after a Palestinian couple and their two young children were fatally shot by Israeli forces on Saturday night.
IDF soldiers and Border Police officers were carrying out an operation to arrest suspected terrorists in the town of Tammun in the West Bank, a police spokesperson said.
During the raid, “a vehicle accelerated toward the forces, which felt endangered and opened fire...As a result, four Palestinians in the vehicle were killed,” they added.
According to a military official, it was several of the Border Police officers who opened fire.
Palestinian Authority (PA) Health Ministry identified the deceased as Ali Khaled Bani Awda, 37, Wa’ad Bani Awda, 35, and their two sons, five-year-old Muhammad and seven-year-old Othman.
Ali suffered wounds to the head, chest and left arm, while the other three were all shot in the head, according to the ministry.
The couple’s other sons, Mustafa, 8, and Khaled, 11, also reportedly suffered minor shrapnel wounds to their heads.
In the wake of the shooting, the Palestine Red Crescent Society claimed that Israeli forces prevented their emergency crews from reaching the vehicle initially, only allowing them to return later to collect the bodies.
Per Ynet, three people were arrested during the operation, in which forces were initially seeking two suspects accused of throwing explosives at soldiers in a separate incident.
According to the latest IDF figures, violent incidents between Palestinians and the army declined last year.
The data, released by the army and the Shin Bet, showed that 2025 saw the continuation of a steady decline in Palestinian terrorism across the West Bank, partly as terror groups increasingly focus their resources on Gaza.
A total of 57 Palestinian terror attacks were recorded last year, resulting in 20 deaths. This was a significant decline from 258 attacks resulting in 35 deaths in 2024 and 847 attacks leading to 41 deaths the year before, though it did represent an increase in the rate of fatalities per attack.
The IDF also credited “sustained offensive activity” within the West Bank, aimed at destroying terror infrastructure, for the drop-off.
Likewise, the number of Palestinians killed by soldiers has dropped by more than 50 per cent in the past two years, down to 240 last year from 500 in 2024 and 504 in 2023.
The army estimates that less than five per cent of those were unintended civilian fatalities, with the remainder either gunmen, rioters or terrorists killed while carrying out attacks.
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