Israeli occupation forces shot and killed an 18-year-old Palestinian man early Thursday during a raid near the town of Huwwara, south of Nablus in the occupied West Bank.

Local sources identified the slain youth as Ismail Samer Othman Sharafa, from the town of Beita. Witnesses reported that Israeli troops opened fire on Sharafa shortly after midnight and subsequently removed his body from the scene.

In a separate incident early Thursday morning, a 15-year-old Palestinian boy was shot in the leg by Israeli forces during a military incursion into the Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus. Ameed Ahmed, director of the Emergency and Ambulance Center at the Palestinian Red Crescent in Nablus, confirmed that the child was treated at the scene before being transported to a hospital.

During the raid, Israeli forces heavily deployed throughout the camp’s narrow alleys, firing live ammunition and launching stun grenades and tear gas. Simultaneously, Israeli units stormed other areas in Nablus, including Sufian Street and Rafidia.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces injured three more Palestinian children and detained a man along with his daughter during a separate raid on Beit Ummar, located north of al-Khalil (Hebron).

In another development, Israeli troops also stormed the town of Qaffin, north of Tulkarm, on Thursday morning.

These incidents are part of a wider military campaign launched by the Israeli occupation forces on January 21, 2025, codenamed "Iron Wall." Initially focused on the Jenin area, the campaign has since spread across the West Bank. Israeli authorities claim the operation is aimed at "protecting settlers and settlement outposts," according to Security Minister Israel Katz.

However, the campaign has led to mass displacement across the region. According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), over 60% of the displacement cases have occurred without judicial justification.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini, speaking at the Munich Security Conference, warned that the displacement now underway in the West Bank is the most extensive since the Israeli occupation began in 1967. His comments came amid ongoing offensives such as the one in Nur Shams refugee camp, where over half of the camp’s 13,000 residents were forced to flee.

Concerns are growing among Palestinians that the Israeli government may be seeking to permanently alter the demographics of the West Bank. These fears intensified following a recent bill in the Israeli Knesset proposing to rename the occupied territory as "Judea and Samaria," a term rooted in biblical references. (ILKHA)