Palestinian boy, 12, shot dead by Israeli soldiers during raid on refugee camp

A 12-year-old Palestinian boy has died in hospital two weeks after being shot in the stomach by Israeli forces raiding his refugee camp.

Mahmoud Samoudi suffered critical injuries to his colon, kidneys and bladder during an army raid in Jenin, a refugee camp and stronghold of armed Palestinians.

During the raid on September 28, soldiers entered the camp and surrounded a house.

In videos circulated on social media, exchanges of gunfire could be heard. At the time, Palestinian health officials said two teenagers, aged 16 and 18, were killed and that 11 people were wounded.

The Israeli army did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Monday’s death.

Israel has been carrying out nightly arrest raids across the West Bank since a spate of 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 Israeli military says the vast majority of those killed were militants or stone-throwers who endangered 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 neighborhoods 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.