Othman Atef Abu Kharj

Their life

Othman Atef Abu Kharj was a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager from the town of Al-Zababdeh, located near Jenin in the northern occupied West Bank. On a Tuesday morning, his life was tragically cut short when Israeli forces stormed his hometown at dawn, raiding homes and sparking confrontations with residents. During the raid, Israeli soldiers used live ammunition and tear gas, and Othman was shot in the head. He was rushed to Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where the hospital’s director, Dr. Fawaz Hammad, confirmed his death. Othman’s killing came just one day after another Palestinian man was fatally shot in the back of the head while walking away from Israeli forces, a moment captured in a widely circulated video. His death highlights the increasing toll of violence faced by Palestinian youth under military occupation.

Othman Atef Abu Kharj was a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager from the town of Al-Zababdeh, located near Jenin in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. He was killed on a Tuesday morning during a military raid carried out by Israeli forces. According to the director of Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, Dr. Fawaz Hammad, Othman died from a gunshot wound to the head. The fatal shooting occurred at dawn when Israeli troops stormed Al-Zababdeh, raiding homes and deploying live ammunition and tear gas, sparking confrontations with local residents. Othman was among the youth who encountered the invading forces during this violent incursion. His death marked another tragic entry in the escalating toll of Palestinian lives lost during near-daily Israeli military operations across the occupied West Bank. His killing came just a day after another Palestinian man was shot in the back of the head while walking away from Israeli forces, a moment captured in a disturbing video widely shared online. Othman’s life was cut short in the midst of an ongoing and increasingly brutal military occupation, adding to the grief of a community already burdened by loss and trauma.

How they died

He was shot by Israeli forces

Othman Atef Abu Kharj died from a gunshot wound to the head, inflicted by Israeli forces during a military raid in the early hours of the morning. According to reports from the Palestinian news agency Wafa and medical officials at Al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, the fatal shot was fired during an armed incursion into the town of Al-Zababdeh, near Jenin. The raid involved house-to-house searches and the use of live ammunition and tear gas by Israeli troops. Eyewitnesses reported that the atmosphere quickly escalated into confrontations between the occupying forces and local residents. In the midst of this violence, Othman was struck by a live bullet to the head, causing critical injuries. Despite being rushed to the hospital, he was declared dead shortly after arrival. His killing is part of a broader pattern of deadly Israeli raids in the West Bank, where live fire is often used in densely populated civilian areas, frequently resulting in the deaths of young Palestinians.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Othman Atef Abu Kharj, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources