By Middle East Correspondent
London, (The Muslim News): Israeli forces shot and killed a Palestinian man in the occupied West Bank on Friday as illegal Jewish settlers expanded their presence and continued attacks on Palestinian communities, while Israeli military operations in Gaza persisted despite a declared ceasefire, leaving civilians, including infants, dead or wounded.
Palestinian officials said Jabrin Ahmad Jabr Qatt, 59, was killed in the town of Madama, south of Nablus. The Palestine Ministry of Health said Israeli forces prevented medical crews from reaching him and that his body was being withheld. The Palestine Red Crescent Society added that a wounded man was also detained and transferred to an unknown location.
Local sources said that Israeli troops used live ammunition, stun grenades and tear gas during clashes with Palestinian youths near the illegal Yitzhar settlement, built on land belonging to Madama. Palestinian figures show that since October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed at least 1,108 Palestinians in the West Bank, injured nearly 11,000, and detained 21,000.
On the same day, settlers began building a new outpost in Khirbet al-Malih, northern Jordan Valley, opposite the historic Malih Hot Springs, the Al-Baydar Organisation for the Defense of Bedouin Rights reported. The organisation said residents have faced repeated attacks, including threats, assaults and land seizures, carried out under Israeli military protection.
Illegal Jewish settlers also forced 15 Palestinian families from the Bedouin community of Shallah al-Auja, north of Jericho, bringing total displacement there to 94 families. Earlier this month, 20 families from Yatta and 26 from the Ka’abneh tribe were displaced after repeated attacks. Al-Baydar said settlers had grazed livestock on farmland, vandalised crops, and persistently provoked residents, creating an uninhabitable environment.
Settler violence continued elsewhere in the northern West Bank. On Friday, Ash-Sheikh Mosque in Khirbet Tana, east of Nablus, was vandalised. Thaer Hanani, of the Khirbet Tana Land Defense Committee, said settlers stormed the mosque and damaged nearby fences. In Qusra, south of Nablus, settlers attacked residents under Israeli army protection, prompting confrontations, though no injuries were reported. Such assaults, often involving live fire, arson, and crop destruction, are rarely prosecuted.
Settlement expansion has been formally endorsed by Israel. In December, Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, said 69 outposts had been legalised over three years, calling it “an unprecedented figure”. The UN considers all settlements illegal under international law and a threat to a two-state solution. Palestinian officials estimate 770,000 settlers now live in over 180 settlements and 256 outposts in the West Bank.
In Gaza, Israeli attacks continue despite ceasefire
Across the Gaza Strip, Israeli attacks continued despite the ceasefire. Several Palestinians were wounded in Khan Younis, with one shot in the city centre and others hit during bombardments in Jabalia. Israeli vehicles fired east of the city, while warplanes struck Rafah and artillery shelled Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City. Since October, more than 1,820 Palestinians have been killed or wounded in over 1,300 ceasefire violations, officials said.
The humanitarian toll has been stark. Six-month-old Yousef Abu Hamad died after prolonged exposure to cold and sewage contamination near his family’s tent in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis. Displaced from Bani Suheila, the family lived beside open sewage after Israel destroyed much of Gaza’s sanitation infrastructure. Doctors said he died from cold and dehydration worsened by polluted water.
Holding his son’s body, Omar Abu Hamad said, “This child came after 17 years of suffering and waiting. He was our only son, among six daughters.”
Repeated appeals for formula and nappies went unanswered. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported nine children had already died from cold-related causes this winter, with Yousef’s death raising the toll to 10. His grandmother, Um Mohammed, said, “When we arrived, he was already gone.”
The Gaza Government Media Office said Israeli attacks had destroyed nearly 90 per cent of civilian infrastructure, including 700,000 metres of sewage networks, triggering an environmental disaster. Fuel shortages left water and sewage systems barely functional.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces have killed more than 71,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000. Despite the ceasefire from October 10, Israel has continued attacks, killing 477 Palestinians and wounding 1,300, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
For the Abu Hamad family, the devastation is painfully personal: after 17 years of waiting, their son lived only six months.
[Photo: Israeli soldiers take security measures by closing off entry and exit points during raid by illegal Jewish settlers, under the protection of Israeli forces, in Old City area of Hebron, West Bank on January 24, 2026. Photojournalist: Wisam Hashlamoun/AA]
