Israeli soldiers shot a Palestinian boy and stood still as he bled to death

“My son posed no threat to those soldiers”

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

As Jad lay lying in an alley, soldiers formed a cordon around him and prevented two Palestinian ambulances from reaching him.

According to video footage and eyewitness testimony, the soldiers – 14 in total – stood around Jad casually for at least 45 minutes as he bled from one or more gunshot wounds.

All Israeli soldiers receive training in trauma care, and any Israeli combat unit should have a specifically trained medic, but none of the soldiers appeared to provide medical aid to Jad. At times, they seemed to ignore Jad’s repeated attempts to get their attention.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC that soldiers provided “first aid”, but a spokesperson declined to give details about the nature or timing of the care.

The Israel Defense Forces also accused Jad of throwing a rock, which under its rules of engagement could entitle soldiers to use lethal force.

But footage of the incident shows an Israel Defense Forces soldier dropping an object next to Jad after he was shot and then taking a photo of the object — an action that Jad’s family and a prominent rights group say was an attempt to frame him.

The soldiers finally managed to get Jad into the back of an Israeli military vehicle, but at some point, either before or after that, he died. It is not yet known exactly which part of his body he was hit or how many times he was shot, as the Israeli army has refused to return his body to his family or answer any questions about his injuries.

Jad’s mother, Safa, said: “They threw a stone near his hand to frame him.”

Photo taken up close

Jad was born and raised in al-Far’a, a refugee camp in the West Bank that is home to around 10,000 Palestinians. Like other similar camps in the occupied territories, al-Far’a is a frequent target of Israeli military incursions, which Israel claims are necessary to combat armed groups operating in the region.

In many ways, Jad’s death was not unusual. According to the UN, 55 children were killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank last year and 227 have been killed since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

But two aspects stand out in this case. The first is that Jad remained on the ground without receiving medical attention for so long, surrounded by so many soldiers, until he died. The second is the emergence of a significant amount of video footage of the incident, which has been verified by the BBC.

The exact moment of the shooting was captured by a security camera in the field. The images show three boys standing at the corner of an alley. First, they look to the right, where, according to witnesses, Israeli military vehicles had passed moments earlier toward the camp’s exit.

The shooting was recorded by security cameras.

One of Jad’s two friends at the time told the BBC that the boys had left after a post on a message group from the camp that Israeli units were leaving, and the boys were peeking around the corner to check.

Unbeknownst to Jad and his friends, a group of four Israeli soldiers waited behind them, a few meters away, to the left, hidden behind the wall. Jad’s friends spotted the soldiers first and ran down the alley. Jad either didn’t see them or saw them too late.

Security camera footage shows the lead soldier entering the scene less than three meters from Jad, then apparently raising his rifle and opening fire. Jad makes a move that suggests this is the moment he gets hit. At the camp, it is possible to find bullet marks on the wall exactly at this point.

Jad, probably already injured, runs down the alley and the Israeli soldier appears to turn, pointing his rifle toward Jad. Security camera footage shows dust being kicked up in the alley ahead, suggesting the Israel Defense Forces soldier continued shooting Jad in the back as he fled.

A boy from al-Far’a camp stands in front of bullet holes, scratching the wall at the spot where Jad was shot by an Israeli soldier.

In the images, it is possible to see Jad faint after just a few meters, disappearing from the frame as he falls. Soon after, images discreetly recorded by a resident of the camp, on the opposite side of the security cameras, begin to be captured. These images would record some of the final moments of Jad’s life.

The video shows the teenager apparently making repeated attempts to get the soldiers’ attention, waving his arms and throwing his hat in their direction. The soldiers seem to ignore his efforts and kick the hat back.

Alerted to the shooting, Jad’s mother tried to reach him on foot, but was stopped by Israeli soldiers, according to her and other witnesses. Another resident made an emergency call and an ambulance was dispatched immediately, arriving at the scene eight minutes later, according to call logs provided to the BBC by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society.

Chief paramedic Hassan Fouqha said his team was stopped by Israeli soldiers at gunpoint and prevented from reaching Jad, who was only about a hundred meters away in their sight.

Paramedic Hassan Fouqha reported that two Palestinian ambulances were blocked by Israeli soldiers, leaving paramedics to watch helplessly.

Fouqha and his ambulance crew were then forced to watch helplessly as Jad lay bleeding from his injuries. The paramedic said they watched for at least 35 minutes without being able to do anything. Fouqha called for a second ambulance to come from another direction, but it was also blocked by soldiers.

“We tried to move forward several times, we tried to signal them to let us get to the child, but we were completely blocked,” Fouqha said. “We could have reached him and provided medical aid, but we were stopped. We don’t know why, but that’s what happened.”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) told the BBC that they provided first aid to Jad after checking that he was not carrying any hidden explosive devices. Footage of the incident, as well as close-up security camera recordings of the moment Jad leaves the house, show that he was wearing just a t-shirt and jeans.

Asked what injuries Jad suffered and what medical treatment was provided, the Israel Defense Forces refused to answer.

Accused of planting a stone

The Israel Defense Forces stated that Jad threw a rock and was a “terrorist” who “attempted to attack the armed forces.”

But Jad’s family accused the soldiers of trying to frame their son, after footage emerged showing one of the soldiers entering the scene unseen, leaving a heavy object next to Jad and then taking a photo of the object next to him.

“They threw a stone near him to incriminate him and make it look like he had thrown stones at them,” said Safa, Jad’s mother. “You can see it in the video,” he said. “Anyone who watches the video will see it.”

Human rights organizations say Israeli soldiers in the West Bank operate under a permissive “open fire” policy, under which they often shoot people who do not pose an immediate threat to their lives, including children who throw stones in their direction.

Shai Parnes, from the Israeli rights group B’Tselem, told the BBC that footage of Jad appeared to show a soldier placing a rock next to him to justify the shooting.

“It’s difficult to determine for sure what we’re seeing — whether it’s a rock and whether they’re trying to fit it in,” Parnes said. “But I think anyone who watches it with an open mind will probably come to that conclusion.”

Such action would be “deplorable,” Parnes added. “But we have found other cases in which Israeli forces, in one way or another, attempted, after the action, to incriminate a Palestinian. It would not be the first time we have seen this captured on video.”

When asked specifically about the allegation that the soldier had planted a rock next to Jad, the Israel Defense Forces ignored the question.

A large poster of Jad hangs from the ceiling of his family’s concentration camp home.

Many of the exact circumstances of Jad’s death, including how many times he was shot and when and where he died, remain unclear because the Israel Defense Forces refused to return his body and answer detailed questions about the incident.

It is not uncommon for Israel to refuse to return the bodies of people killed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) – according to reports, Israeli authorities are withholding the bodies of 776 Palestinians or citizens of other nationalities accused or suspected of committing attacks.

When questioned by the BBC, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) refused to explain why they were holding Jad’s body. Jad’s mother, Safa, said the armed forces were trying to hide something or simply carrying out a form of deliberate cruelty.

“Maybe it’s just to provoke us, to exhaust us, to wear out our patience,” she said. “But we are patient, we have hope and we will continue to wait. Today, tomorrow or a hundred years from now, we will have him back. God willing, we will have him back.”

Originally published by BBC News on 02/26/2026

By Joel Gunter – Occupied West Bank

Alaa Badarna contributed to this story

Photographs: Joel Gunter