Israeli soldiers fire on family car in occupied West Bank, killing 4

Israeli soldiers fired on a car carrying a family in the northern West Bank, killing four people including two children, the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry said

Israeli soldiers fired on a car carrying a family in the northern West Bank, killing four people including two children, the Palestinian Authority’s Health Ministry said.

The Palestinian Red Crescent rescue service said that Ali and Waed Odeh, and 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 were granted access, the group said, accusing Israel of delaying ambulances dispatched to the scene.

Israel’s military and police said in a joint statement Sunday that forces opened fire after a car accelerated toward them in Tammun. They said the forces were pursuing suspects accused of “terrorist activity” and that the shooting was under investigation.

Najah al-Subhi, who lost her son and grandchildren, told The Associated Press the family had gone to a mall in Nablus to buy clothes for Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan this week. She said the two surviving children sustained shrapnel wounds in the eye and the head.

Sameer Basharat, Tammun’s mayor, said he heard about what happened to the Odeh family in the middle of the night, noting that their car was shot in the town’s center, where the Israeli army maintains a daily military presence.