Mohammad Hussein Zakarna

Their life

Mohammad Hussein Zakarna was a 17-year-old Palestinian teenager from Jenin, a city in the northern occupied West Bank. On April 10, 2022, Israeli undercover soldiers infiltrated the Industrial Zone of Jenin and opened fire on a Palestinian car in an ambush operation. Mohammad was shot in the back with an expanding bullet whose fragments tore through his chest, causing critical internal injuries. He was rushed by Palestinian medics to al-Razi Hospital in Jenin, where he succumbed to his wounds the following day, April 11, 2022. Mohammad’s killing drew widespread sorrow in his hometown, and his funeral was attended by hundreds of grieving Palestinians. His death occurred amid an escalation of Israeli military operations in the West Bank and followed the killing of several other Palestinians, including a mother of six and two young adults, in separate incidents within the same week.

Mohammad Hussein Zakarna, aged 17, was a resident of Jenin, a city that has long been a focal point of Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank. As a teenager, Mohammad was navigating life in a region under military occupation, where daily life is shaped by movement restrictions, economic hardship, and near-constant surveillance.

On April 10, 2022, Mohammad became the target of lethal force during a covert Israeli military operation. Undercover Israeli soldiers entered the Industrial Zone of Jenin and ambushed a Palestinian vehicle. During the operation, they fired multiple live rounds, one of which struck Mohammad in the back. The bullet was of the expanding type—designed to inflict maximum damage upon entry. The fragments tore through his torso, causing catastrophic injuries. He was transported by Palestinian medics to al-Razi Hospital, where he remained in critical condition until he succumbed to his wounds the next day.

Mohammad’s funeral took place soon after his death and was attended by hundreds of residents who mourned the loss of yet another young life. His killing occurred within a grim pattern of violence in early April 2022, during which several Palestinians—including children, women, and unarmed civilians—were fatally shot by Israeli forces across the West Bank.

Mohammad is remembered as a young boy whose future was abruptly and violently stolen. His death underscores the dangers faced by Palestinian youth under military occupation and raises serious legal and ethical concerns regarding the use of live ammunition by Israeli forces in civilian areas, particularly the use of expanding bullets, which are prohibited under international humanitarian law in most combat scenarios.

How they died

Mohammad was shot in the back with an expanding bullet that caused fatal internal injuries.

Mohammad Hussein Zakarna died after being shot in the back by an expanding (dum-dum) bullet fired by undercover Israeli soldiers in the Jenin Industrial Zone on April 10, 2022. The bullet fragmented upon impact, causing extensive internal damage as its shards traveled through his chest cavity, damaging vital organs. Eyewitnesses stated that the soldiers ambushed a Palestinian car and opened fire, injuring Mohammad, who was not armed nor known to be involved in any confrontation. Expanding bullets are internationally controversial and often considered illegal under the Hague Conventions due to the excessive, often lethal injuries they inflict. Mohammad succumbed to his critical injuries after undergoing emergency treatment but could not survive the trauma.

Why we remember them

This record exists so that Mohammad Hussein Zakarna, and all who are named in this archive, are never reduced to a number.

References & sources