Israeli forces kill two children and their parents in West Bank
Ali and Waad Bani Odeh’s four children were showing off the new clothes they had just bought for the upcoming Eid celebrations as their parents drove home from Nablus in the northern West Bank to their house in the town of Tammun, south of Tubas.
The children joyfully described the colours and styles of their outfits to their visually impaired brother, Othman. Ali glanced back at his children and smiled at his wife, sharing a rare moment together, as his work often kept him away from his family.
It was a perfect Saturday evening for the Palestinian family, violently interrupted when undercover Israeli special forces suddenly peppered the car with bullets, killing the parents and two of their children.
Ali, 37, Waad, 35, and their children, Mohammad and Othman, aged five and seven respectively, were each shot in the head. Only Mustafa, eight, and Khaled, 12, survived, though they sustained shrapnel wounds to the face and head.
The Israeli forces, travelling in a civilian car, opened fire as soon as Ali’s vehicle reached the western part of Tammun.
Soldiers then approached the car, opened the doors and found the two children still alive. They dragged them out of the vehicle.
'Why did you kill mine?'
Khaled told reporters that soldiers ordered them to lie on the ground in the cold and rain while they were questioned. They were then made to stand against a wall with their hands raised and searched.
Mustafa, frightened and in shock, asked to go to the toilet, so a soldier took him to another location. On the way, Mustafa recounted, the soldier opened the car doors again and forced him to look at the bodies of his bleeding family before laughing.
"They kept us with them and ordered us to remain still after searching us. They beat us, kicked us and cursed and laughed at us," Khaled said.
"They asked where we had been, and I told them we had gone to Nablus to buy Eid clothes. They accused me of lying and beat me.
"Then I gathered the courage to ask one of the soldiers, ‘Do you love your mother and father?’ He said, ‘Of course.’ I asked, ‘Then why did you kill mine?’ He punched me in the face."
The soldiers prevented Palestinian ambulance crews from reaching the vehicle. After detaining the two children for over half an hour, they allowed them to approach the ambulance on the condition that they leave the area immediately after taking them.
Nidal Bani Odeh, the town’s ambulance officer, said the crew waited nearly half an hour before being allowed to reach the boys, who had shrapnel wounds to their faces and heads and were covered in their brother’s blood.
Another half hour passed before the ambulance was allowed to reach the vehicle and retrieve the bodies.
"We found them all dead. All the injuries were to the head and upper body, which suggests the intent was to kill. The vehicle was riddled with dozens of bullets," he said.
The crew moved the victims’ bodies in front of the soldiers. The soldiers then towed the vehicle away, saying they were inspecting it, and prevented anyone from approaching.
The Israeli military and police said in a joint statement that during an operation in Tammun, "a vehicle accelerated toward the forces, who perceived an immediate threat to their safety and responded with gunfire".
'A barbaric crime'
On Sunday, a large crowd of distraught Palestinians mourned over the bodies of the family, wrapped in Palestinian flags.
For Palestinians, the incident recalled the killing of six-year-old Hind Rajab in the Gaza Strip in June 2024, when Israeli forces sprayed her family car with bullets, killing everyone inside.
Speaking to Middle East Eye, Ziad Bani Odeh, Ali’s uncle, mourned the family, describing them as peaceful and full of life.
'They asked where we had been, and I told them we had gone to Nablus to buy Eid clothes. They accused me of lying and beat me'
- Khaled Bani Odeh, 12
"I had iftar at their house a few days ago. I asked Waad when Ali would be returning from his work in Israel, and she said he was due back in two days. And indeed, he came home, happy, to his family after 40 days away, unaware that he was returning only to be murdered in cold blood," he said.
Ali, described as kind and cheerful, worked tirelessly to provide for his family despite the difficult circumstances and the ban on Palestinian workers entering Israel. He was determined to get there by any means necessary.
After receiving his pay cheque, Ali returned home, eager to take his children on a trip to buy their Eid outfits.
"Waad was a devoted mother who raised her children and cared especially for Othman, who lived with a disability. She was a quiet, loving young woman, admired by everyone who knew her," Ziad said.
The children shared a joyful, playful and loving bond. They helped their mother care for Othman, patiently explaining everything to him because he could not see.
"This is a barbaric crime. To kill an innocent family with more than a hundred bullets - what justification is there? Why are our lives so cheap?"
Killing without justification
Since 7 October 2023, Israeli forces have killed 44 Palestinians in Tubas, including children.
On 8 January 2025, an Israeli drone struck a young man and two of his nephews over suspicion of involvement in a terrorist attack. Months later, Israel admitted it had "miscalculated".
Najeh Bani Odeh, a member of the Tammun municipality and a paramedic, said that a few months earlier, a Palestinian family in the town narrowly escaped when Israeli special forces fired on their vehicle.
"The special forces are extremely dangerous to Palestinians. They act with a license to kill without justification," he said.
"They operate in civilian vehicles, so people don’t notice them and behave normally when they pass by. If the soldiers inside feel threatened, they open fire immediately."
Ambulance crews are routinely prevented from reaching those wounded by Israeli army fire, often resulting in fatalities. The crews themselves also face assault and intimidation.
"Just weeks ago, settlers attacked us while we were trying to reach a wounded person. They broke a paramedic’s glasses and vandalised our vehicle," Najeh added.
Around 15,000 Palestinians live in Tammun, which is frequently raided by the Israeli army under the pretext of searching for so-called wanted individuals.
The victims are almost always children and defenceless civilians.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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