Two Palestinian teenagers were shot and killed at dawn on Friday after Israeli occupation forces stormed the town of Kafr Aqab, north of occupied Jerusalem.

According to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, medical teams rushed to respond after receiving reports of severe injuries caused by live ammunition fired by Israeli troops during their incursion. The Red Crescent confirmed that two critically wounded youths were evacuated to a hospital. Despite all efforts to save their lives, both young Palestinians later succumbed to their injuries.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the martyrs as 18-year-old Amr Khaled Al-Marboua and 16-year-old Sami Ibrahim Mashaikha, two teenagers whose lives were cut short in yet another display of Israel’s escalating violence against Palestinian youth.

Local sources reported that Israeli forces stormed the town with overwhelming military force, deploying infantry units throughout Kafr Aqab’s streets and positioning snipers on rooftops—tactics routinely used in occupied Palestinian areas to intimidate and terrorize civilians. Witnesses said occupation soldiers opened live fire at groups of young men, leading directly to the killing of Al-Marboua and Mashaikha.

Residents of Kafr Aqab described the raid as part of an ongoing pattern of punitive and deadly Israeli operations targeting Palestinian towns and refugee camps, often carried out without provocation and with complete disregard for civilian life. The killing of the two teenagers adds to the growing list of Palestinian children and youth who have been shot dead by Israeli forces across the occupied West Bank in recent months.

Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that Israel’s use of lethal force against Palestinian civilians—including minors—is systematic, excessive, and carried out with impunity. Friday’s killings in Kafr Aqab once again highlight the daily reality faced by Palestinians living under military occupation: a reality where heavily armed Israeli soldiers can invade at any hour, occupy rooftops, and shoot at residents with no accountability.

As the families of Al-Marboua and Mashaikha prepare to bury their sons, Palestinians across the region mourn yet another painful loss and call on the international community to intervene and halt Israel’s ongoing crimes against the Palestinian people. (ILKHA)