An 18-year-old Palestinian was killed late Thursday during an Israeli military raid on the village of Beitin, east of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, according to Palestinian health officials and local sources.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health, citing the General Authority of Civil Affairs, confirmed that Haitham Ezzedine Omar Hmeida, 18, was killed by Israeli gunfire during the operation.

Local residents reported that Israeli occupation forces stormed the village, triggering confrontations with Palestinians. During the raid, troops reportedly used live ammunition alongside tear gas and stun grenades, escalating tensions in the area.

According to witnesses, the military incursion also led to a fire breaking out in agricultural land located in the center of the village, causing damage to local farmland.

The ministry said Israeli forces are currently withholding the body of the slain teenager, a practice that Palestinian officials and human rights groups have repeatedly criticized as collective punishment and a violation of international humanitarian norms.

The killing adds to rising tensions across the occupied West Bank, where Israeli military raids and confrontations with Palestinian residents have intensified in recent months amid ongoing unrest in the region. (ILKHA)