RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories — Israeli forces killed two Palestinians in the occupied West Bank whom they accused of throwing stones, an Israeli security source said, with the Palestinian health ministry confirming on Monday one of the deaths.

 

Late on Sunday, the Israeli military said that during an operation earlier in the day, three individuals threw stones towards cars on a road near the town of Azzun.

 

"The soldiers responded with fire toward the terrorists; one terrorist was eliminated, and the other neutralised", the military said in a statement, adding the third individual was "apprehended".

 

On Monday, an Israeli security source told AFP that the suspect who the military had said was neutralised later "died of his wounds," while the third individual was still being detained.

 

The Palestinian health ministry on Monday announced the death of 21-year-old Bara Qablan, "who succumbed to the wounds he sustained yesterday after being shot" by the army in Qalqilya governorate, where Azzun is located.

 

The Ramallah-based ministry did not confirm the death of the other individual.

 

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 where violence has soared since Hamas's October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the Gaza war.

 

It has not ceased despite the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas that came into effect in October.

 

Israeli troops or settlers have killed at least 1,022 Palestinians, many of them militants, but also scores of civilians, in the West Bank since the start of the Gaza war, according to an AFP tally based on Palestinian health ministry figures.

 

At least 44 Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, have been killed in Palestinian attacks or Israeli military operations, according to official Israeli figures.