Israel-Gaza Conflict Escalates: Teenagers Killed In East Jerusalem, West Bank Violence Rises

Two Palestinian teenagers were shot dead by Israeli forces in the Kafr Aqab neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem, as tensions in Gaza and the West Bank continued to rise, Al Jazeera reported. A separate fatality was recorded outside the so-called yellow line, south of Khan Younis city, according to a Nasser Hospital source speaking to the news agency.

In an interview with Abu Ali Express, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the “worst of” the Gaza war may be over, though he added that Israel could still act if necessary. “The war in the broader sense, with the seven parallel fronts, is behind us,” he said. His remarks come amid ongoing Israeli strikes in Gaza and reported clashes along the Lebanon border.

The UN Secretary-General’s spokesperson Stephane Dujarric expressed concern over the “fragility of the ceasefire” in Gaza, urging an immediate halt to killings in the enclave, Al Jazeera reported.

Israel’s military claimed responsibility for an air strike that killed five fighters emerging from a tunnel in eastern Rafah, an area under Israeli control. According to a statement by the military, troops from the Nahal Brigade identified the fighters as posing an “immediate threat” and guided the Air Force to target them. “Our troops will continue to operate to remove any immediate threat,” the statement added.

In the occupied West Bank, a video circulated showing a 15-year-old Palestinian boy being shot during an Israeli raid on the Far’a refugee camp last week. The footage shows that medical assistance was denied while Israeli forces remained present. The boy later died from his injuries, Al Jazeera reported.

Reports of settler violence in the West Bank have also escalated. In Khirbet Abu Falah near Ramallah, Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian agricultural storage room and spray-painted racist slogans. In Deir Sharaf near Nablus, settlers vandalised a Palestinian plant nursery. Al Jazeera reported that in al-Majaz, near Hebron, a group of settlers assaulted residents with batons and stones. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned these attacks, calling them “abhorrent” and indicative of “a wider pattern of increased violence against Palestinians”.

Al Jazeera reported that the rising settler violence and ongoing military operations in Gaza and the West Bank highlight continuing instability in the region, despite statements suggesting a possible de-escalation from Israeli authorities.

(With inputs from Al Jazeera)