Shot by Israeli soldiers, 14-year-old dies without medical assistance

A BBC investigation has shed light on the killing of 14-year-old Palestinian boy Jad Jadallah in the al-Far'a refugee camp in the West Bank. Footage shows him lying wounded for around 45 minutes as Israeli soldiers blocked ambulances from reaching him. The Israel Defense Forces claim they provided him with medical treatment and accuse him of stone-throwing, but his family and human rights groups have raised serious doubts about the circumstances of the incident.

In November last year, a 14-year-old Palestinian boy, named Yad Jadallah, was shot at close range by Israeli soldiers in a refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.

After Yad collapsed in an alley, soldiers formed a circle around him and prevented two Palestinian ambulances from approaching him.

According to video footage and residents' testimonies, 14 soldiers stood around him for at least 45 minutes while he bled from one or more gunshot wounds.

All Israeli soldiers are trained in trauma first aid, and each combat unit usually has a trained medic. However, no soldier is seen in the footage to provide life-saving medical assistance. At times, they appear to ignore Jadi's attempts to get their attention.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC that soldiers had provided "initial medical aid", but did not provide details on the timing or type of treatment.

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The IDF also accused Yadin of throwing a rock. According to their rules of engagement, this could allow the use of deadly force.

However, the footage shows an Israeli soldier throwing an object near Yadi after he was shot, and then taking a picture of him. Yadi's family and a prominent human rights organization say this appears to be an attempt to frame him.

Later, soldiers placed Yad in the back of an Israeli military vehicle. It is not clear whether he died before or after that. It is still not known how many times he was shot or in which part of his body, because the Israeli military has not returned the body to the family and has refused to provide information about the injuries.

Shot at close range

Yad was born and raised in the al-Far'a refugee camp in the West Bank, home to about 10 Palestinians. The camps face frequent raids by the Israeli military, which says they are necessary to combat armed groups operating there.

According to the UN, 55 children were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank last year. Since Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the number of children killed there has reached 227.

Two things make this case special. First, Jad lay wounded on the ground for a long time without help, while many soldiers were by his side. Second, there is extensive video footage verified by the BBC that shows the event.

The exact moment of the shooting was captured on a security camera in the camp. The video shows three boys standing on the corner of an alley. They look to the right, where witnesses say Israeli military vehicles had just left the camp.

One of Jadi's friends said the boys went outside after seeing a message on a group chat saying that Israeli units were leaving. They were checking to see if the area was safe.

Unbeknownst to them, four Israeli soldiers had been left behind and were standing a few meters away, hidden behind the wall. The two friends saw the danger and ran away. Yad either didn't see the soldiers, or he saw them too late.

The footage shows the lead soldier approaching within three meters of Jad, raising his gun and firing. Jad appears to be wounded at that moment. Bullet holes are visible in the camp wall at that location.

Jad, possibly wounded, runs into the alley. The soldier appears to continue shooting after him. Dust rising on the ground indicates that the shooting continued as he walked away.

A few seconds later, Jad collapses and disappears from the camera's view. Another video, filmed by a resident, shows his final moments.

In this video, Jad tries several times to get the soldiers' attention. He waves his hands and throws his hat at them. The soldiers seem to ignore him and push the hat away with their feet.

His mother tried to reach him but was stopped by soldiers, according to witnesses. Another resident called an ambulance. It arrived eight minutes later, according to the Palestinian Red Crescent.

Emergency doctor Hassan Fouqha said the ambulance was stopped by soldiers with guns and was not allowed to approach, even though it was about 100 meters away. They waited for at least 35 minutes, unable to help. A second ambulance was also stopped.

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"We tried several times to approach and signal them to let us help the child, but we were completely thwarted," he said.

The IDF said it had provided him with “first aid” after verifying that he did not have any explosive devices. Footage shows that Yad was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans.

When asked about the injuries and the treatment given, the Israeli military did not provide an answer.

Accused of throwing stones

The IDF stated that Yadu had thrown a rock and described him as a "terrorist" who, according to them, "attempted to attack Israeli forces" during the operation at the camp.

However, his family has denied these claims and accused the soldiers of trying to unfairly blame their son to justify the use of deadly force. In the video footage that has been made public, a soldier is seen entering the scene from outside the camera frame, placing a heavy object next to Jadi's body and then photographing the object while standing next to him.

According to Jadi's mother, Safa, this was a clear attempt to portray the incident differently than it actually happened. "They threw a stone near him to blame him and to make it look like he threw stones at them," she said. "This is clearly visible in the video. Anyone who watches it carefully will understand what happened."

Human rights groups have long raised concerns that Israeli soldiers in the West Bank operate under a so-called “open fire” policy, which they say allows the use of firearms even when the individuals involved pose no immediate threat to the soldiers’ lives. According to these groups, in some cases children who threw stones at military forces have also been shot.

Shai Parnes, a representative of the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, told the BBC that footage of the incident appeared to show a soldier placing a stone near Yad in order to create an excuse for the shooting.

"It's hard to say with absolute certainty what we're seeing - whether the object is really a rock and whether the intention was to blame it," Parnes said. "However, I think anyone who analyzes the video with an open mind is likely to conclude that this is an attempt to stage the situation."

He added that, if such an action were proven, it would be extremely serious and unacceptable. "We have documented other cases where Israeli forces, in various ways, have tried to portray a Palestinian as guilty after the events to justify their actions. It would not be the first time that such a situation has been caught on camera."

When the BBC specifically asked the IDF about the claim that a soldier had placed a stone near Yad, the Israeli military did not provide any response and ignored the question.

Meanwhile, many of the exact circumstances of Yadi's death remain unclear, including the number of bullet wounds, the parts of his body he was hit in, and the exact time and place he died. This ambiguity is compounded by the fact that the IDF has refused to hand over the body to the family and has refused to provide detailed explanations regarding the incident.

Refusing to return the bodies of those killed by the IDF is not an uncommon practice. According to reports, Israeli authorities are currently holding the bodies of 776 Palestinians or other citizens who have been accused or suspected of involvement in attacks.

When asked by the BBC about the reason for keeping Jadi's body, the IDF offered no official explanation.

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His mother, Safa, said this behavior could either be an attempt to hide the truth about what happened to her son, or a deliberate form of psychological pressure and cruelty towards the family.

“Maybe they only intend to provoke us and burden us emotionally, to wear us down spiritually and to test our patience,” she said. “But we will continue to stand strong. We have patience and we have hope. We will wait as long as it takes - today, tomorrow or even many, many years - until we get our son back. With God’s help, one day he will come back to us.”