The Palestinians bury a 15-year-old who was shot by Israeli troops in the West Bank.

RAMALLAH (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – On Friday, a lot of Palestinians went to the funeral of a 15-year-old boy in the occupied West Bank village of Silwad. Israeli troops shot him dead overnight.

Around 200 people mourned and yelled as they carried Yamen Hamed’s body, which was wrapped in a Palestinian flag, through the busy streets.

Some others hoisted Palestinian flags, while others held banners for Hamas, the Islamist group, and its long-time foe Fatah, which is the party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. Women cried over the body of the teenager inside, rubbing and kissing his face.

Women cried over the body of the teen and kissed and stroked his face.

The Palestinian health ministry had said earlier on Friday that “Yamen Samed Yousef Hamed” had died “by occupation bullets in Silwad, northeast of Ramallah.”

The Israeli military told AFP that during an operation near Silwad, “a terrorist was identified with a suspicious flaming object that was suspected to be an explosive device.”

“It said, “After identifying the terrorist, the soldiers opened fire and killed him.”

The boy’s father, Yousef Hamed, revealed that his kid was happy in his last moments.

“He was at home with us just before and was happy and playing,” he told AFP.

“Most of the time, he just says, ‘Bye, I’m gone,’ when he departs. This time, when he was leaving, he said farewell to each of his brothers, his mother, and everyone else one by one. “It was like he felt it this time, or God told him to,” he said.

“He said goodbye to everyone and left, but he never came back.”

Since Hamas attacked on October 7, 2023, which started the Gaza war, violence in the West Bank, which Israel has held since 1967, has gone up a lot.

On October 10, a new ceasefire between Israel and Hamas went into force in the area. The United States, Egypt, and Qatar helped make it happen.

The Palestinian health ministry in Ramallah says that Israeli soldiers or settlers have killed at least 996 Palestinians in the West Bank since the war in Gaza began. Some of these deaths were of militants.

According to official Israeli estimates, 43 Israelis, including troops, have been killed in attacks by Palestinians during the same time period.