Israeli soldiers fire on family car in occupied West Bank, killing 4 : NPR
A Palestinian carries Muhammad Bani Odeh, 5, during the funeral of four members of the Odeh family who were killed in their car by Israeli security forces during a military operation in Tammun, West Bank, Sunday, March 15, 2026.
Majdi Mohammed/AP
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Majdi Mohammed/AP
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Israeli soldiers fired on a car carrying a family in the northern West Bank, killing four people including two children, the Palestinian Authority Health Ministry said.
The official Palestinian news agency said the family was shot dead on Saturday evening while they went out to buy new clothes for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr holiday. Israel said it was investigating the shooting.
Palestinian Red Crescent rescue services said Ali and Waed Odeh, along with two of their four children, were shot in the head. The Odehs’ two surviving children had shrapnel wounds that were examined by first responders once they gained access, the group said, accusing Israel of delaying sending ambulances to the scene.
The Israeli army and police said in a joint statement on Sunday that forces opened fire after a car accelerated towards them in Tammoun. They said law enforcement was pursuing suspects accused of “terrorist activities” and that the shooting was under investigation.
Members of the Odeh family were the latest victims in the occupied West Bank, where shooting by Israeli settlers and soldiers had already killed at least eight Palestinians since the start of the war in Iran.
Since Israel and the United States attacked Iran on February 28, Israeli authorities have restricted travel across the West Bank, intermittently closing hundreds of gates and checkpoints on roads used by residents, ambulances and commercial traffic. The barriers have restricted travel and made emergency response significantly more difficult, the Red Crescent told The Associated Press last week.
Israeli rights group Yesh Din said Wednesday it had documented 109 incidents of settler violence in the occupied West Bank in dozens of Palestinian communities since the start of the war.
The toll is lower than in 2025 – a record year for violence that began with Israel’s invasion of towns in the northern West Bank that the army described as militant strongholds. Israeli forces still maintain a presence there.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has recorded 18 Palestinians killed in the occupied West Bank since the start of 2026, including eight by Israeli settlers.
