Palestinian boy, 12, dies of gunshot wound from Israel army raid

This year has been the deadliest in the occupied West Bank since 2015

Israeli armoured vehicles during the army operation at the refugee camp near the West Bank city of Jenin on Saturday. EPA

A Palestinian boy, 12, who was shot and wounded by Israeli soldiers during a raid in a refugee camp in the West Bank, died on Monday, the Palestinian Health Ministry said.

Mahmoud Samoudi was shot in the abdomen during an army raid in Jenin on September 28.

The Health Ministry at first mistakenly reported that the boy was wounded during the weekend.

During the raid, soldiers entered the camp and surrounded a house. In videos on social media, exchanges of fire could be heard.

At the time, Palestinian health officials said two youths, aged 16 and 18, were killed and 11 people were wounded.

The Israeli army said it was “aware of an allegation regarding injuries to a minor who participated in the violent riots and hurled stones at the security forces".

It said the circumstances surrounding the event were being examined.

Israel has been carrying out nightly arrest raids across the West Bank since attacks against Israelis in the spring killed 19 people.

The army said it had traced some of the perpetrators of those attacks back to Jenin.

Israeli fire has killed more than 100 Palestinians during that time, making it the deadliest year in the occupied territory since 2015.

The Palestinian family who live in a cemetery - in pictures

The Israeli military says by far most of those killed were militants or people throwing stones who endangered the soldiers.

But several civilians have also been killed during Israel’s months-long operation, including a veteran journalist and a lawyer who apparently drove unwittingly into a battle zone.

Local youths who took to the streets in response to the invasion of their neighbourhoods have also been killed.

Israel says the arrest raids are meant to dismantle militant networks.

The Palestinians say the operations are aimed at strengthening Israel’s 55-year military occupation of territories they want for an independent state.

Names of Palestinian children killed carved into sand - in pictures

Also on Monday, Israeli soldiers entered the Shuafat refugee camp and searched homes and shops for a Palestinian suspected in the killing of an Israeli soldier at the weekend.

Dozens of camp residents threw stones at the soldiers, who fired tear gas.

Saturday night’s shooting happened at a checkpoint near the camp in East Jerusalem.

Police said at the time that the assailant left a car and opened fire, seriously wounding a female soldier and a security guard before running into the camp.

The army announced early on Sunday that the woman, who was 19, had died.