Injured Palestinian teenager used as human shield dies in Israeli custody

A Palestinian teenager has succumbed to his grave gunshot wounds, more than a month after Israeli forces used him as a human shield by placing him in front of a military Jeep during his arrest in the occupied West Bank.

A joint statement by the Commission of Detainees’ and Ex-Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said 19-year-old Zahir Tahseen Raddad breathed his last at Meir Hospital in the central part of the 1948 Israeli-occupied territories early on Sunday.

According to the statement, Raddad was shot and injured by Israeli army fire in the town of Saida, located 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, on July 23.

He was used as a human shield by Israeli army soldiers, who placed him on the front of a military vehicle during a raid in the town.

The statement further noted that Raddad had been held at Meir Hospital under critical and unstable health conditions, and was reliant on artificial respiration after undergoing several surgeries.

Despite his grave condition, Israeli authorities continued his detention until his death.

The two Palestinian organizations condemned the Israeli actions as a compounded crime, which started with Raddad’s arrest and shooting, continued with him being used as a human shield, and ended with his death despite his fairly critical health condition in detention.

They described the tragic incident as part of the unprecedented scale of crimes being committed by Israel since the onset of its genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip, and its ongoing aggression against Palestinians across all occupied territories.

Raddad’s family said that during his time in detention, they did not receive sufficient information about his condition or the exact nature of his wounds.

His uncle, Mohammed, said they had no details on his injuries.

Israeli forces raid several areas across occupied West Bank

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society reported that a 16-year-old Palestinian sustained an injury from live gunfire in the foot.

“The family was in contact with the lawyer, the prisoners’ institutions, and Doctors Without Borders, and all the information they received was that he had been in intensive care for over a month since his arrest while injured on 23 July,” he said.

He added that any information he did receive about Raddad was conflicting.

The family were told he was wounded on the right side of his chest, but other information they received stated he was wounded in the thigh.

Eyewitnesses told the family that Raddad was placed on the front of an Israeli military Jeep as a human shield for over two hours, which worsened his injuries and greatly harmed his health.

The family held a funeral in the town of Saida, despite not receiving any information about the decision to get Raddad’s body back to be buried.

They fear that his body, like that of many Palestinians, will be held by Israeli authorities as a form of collective punishment.

Raddad’s death takes the toll of Palestinians, who have died inside Israeli prisons since October 7 last year to 23, the Palestinian Prisoners Club said in a statement, highlighting that this number only includes those who have had their identities announced.

Since Israel unleashed a war on the besieged Gaza Strip in early October 2023, casualties have been rising in the West Bank as a result of intensified near-daily Israeli raids into villages and cities in the occupied territories.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 641 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 5,400 others injured by Israeli forces in the West Bank since the outbreak of the war on Gaza.

At least 40,405 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have also been killed in the Israeli genocidal war against the Gaza Strip during the past 10 months.

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