The last time Nassar al-Hammouni spoke to his son Ayman was over the telephone. The 12-year-old Ayman was full of plans for the upcoming weekend and his future. He had joined a local football team and was looking forward to registering at a karate club. Ayman told his father that he wanted to become a doctor or an engineer to help him in his construction job that took him away from their home in Hebron every week. Unfortunately, none of these dreams will come true now as Ayman was killed just two days after the call to his father, apparently shot by Israeli fire.
The killing of children in the West Bank has become commonplace, with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) increasing operations since the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023, and the start of the Gaza war. The intensity of the conflict has escalated further since the January ceasefire in the strip. So far this year, about two children have been killed every week, exceeding the average rate for 2024 when 93 children were killed. Human rights organizations are concerned that the numbers may continue to rise as the IDF implements “Gazafication” tactics, forcing thousands of people out of their homes, flattening districts, and loosening the rules of engagement for soldiers.
Ayman’s case is particularly tragic due to the clarity of the evidence from security camera footage, which captures the moments leading up to his death. He had gone with his family to visit his grandfather and uncles in Jabal Jawhar, a district near the Tomb of the Patriarchs, where aggressive IDF patrols occur on Friday nights before Jewish settlers come to pray. Ayman returned to his uncle’s house when an initial commotion occurred, followed by gunfire. It appears that Ayman was shot by a bullet from the direction of advancing Israeli soldiers, who arrived at the scene seconds later.
The soldiers’ presence and actions were captured on the security cameras, but the footage does not conclusively identify who fired the shot that killed Ayman. The IDF did not respond to questions about Ayman’s death, and investigations rarely result in substantial action. An Israeli human rights group, Yesh Din, calculates the probability of an Israeli soldier facing prosecution for killing Palestinians to be just 0.4%.
Nassar and Ayman’s uncle, Nadeem, took the body to the hospital, where it was confirmed that the bullet entered Ayman’s back and lodged in his lungs. Nassar’s journey to the hospital involved navigating army checkpoints, and at one point, an Arabic-speaking soldier taunted him, claiming responsibility for shooting Ayman and urging Nassar to follow his son. Ayman’s younger brother, Aysar, returned to school, but he couldn’t face seeing his brother’s empty classroom. Nassar lamented that even the vulnerability of being a child offers no protection in the West Bank, attributing the violence to rage and revenge, where no one is safe.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/01/footage-shows-last-moments-boy-12-killed-in-west-bank
