UPDATE - Israeli army kills toddler in West Bank with gunshot to head

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By Rania Abu Shamala

ISTANBUL (AA) - A Palestinian toddler died of injuries sustained Saturday from Israeli army gunfire in the southern West Bank city of Jenin, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The ministry identified the toddler as Laila al-Khatib, 2 and a half years old, who was shot in the village of Muthalath al-Shuhada.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported earlier that its teams transported a toddler to the hospital after she was "shot in the head with live ammunition."

It said in a subsequent statement the teams also transported to the hospital a woman who had a gunshot wound to her hand and shrapnel wounds to her head in Muthalath al-Shuhada.

Meanwhile, the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa, reported that Israeli special forces surrounded a house and demanded on loudspeakers that its occupants evacuate.

It added that "military reinforcements arrived in the village of Muthalath al-Shuhada ... and Israeli occupation soldiers deployed snipers in the village and around the besieged house amid ongoing clashes."

The Israeli army has been conducting a military offensive in Jenin for a fifth consecutive day, resulting in the deaths of 15 Palestinians, including the toddler, and injuring about 50 others, according to official Palestinian figures.

Since the start of the military offensive, which has included airstrikes and swift raids by special forces, the army has forced hundreds of Palestinians to flee the Jenin refugee camp.

Tensions have been running high across the occupied West Bank due to Israel’s war against the Gaza Strip, where nearly 47,300 people have been killed, most of them women and children, and more than 111,500 injured since Oct. 7, 2023.

At least 875 Palestinians have been killed and more than 6,700 injured by Israeli forces in the occupied territory, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

A ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending the Israeli assault on the enclave.​​​​​​​

In July, the International Court of Justice declared Israel’s long-standing occupation of Palestinian territories illegal, calling for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala