Nader Haitham Rayyan
Gunshot wounds by Israeli forces
Nader Rayyan was fatally shot by Israeli forces who invaded Balata refugee camp early in the morning. As Israeli soldiers withdrew after abducting a resident, they opened fire on a motorcycle carrying two boys. Nader tried to flee but was struck by live bullets. One bullet entered his abdomen and exited through his chest; another penetrated his chest from the right side. He was declared dead at Rafidia Hospital.
Biography
Nader Haitham Rayyan, 17, was a Palestinian teenager from Balata Refugee Camp in the northern West Bank. On March 15, 2022, he was shot and killed by Israeli forces during a military raid in the camp. Nader was fleeing on foot after soldiers opened fire on him and another child riding a motorcycle. He was struck by live bullets in the chest and abdomen and died shortly after at Rafidia Hospital. His death was widely condemned by human rights groups as part of a pattern of lethal force used by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians.
On March 15, 2022, Israeli forces—specifically a special unit known as Yamam—carried out a pre-dawn raid in Balata Camp, abducting a resident named Ammar Arafat. As the forces withdrew, they fired live rounds at youths in the area, including Nader, who was riding on a motorcycle with another child. Both boys tried to flee on foot, but Nader was shot twice with live ammunition, including a bullet that pierced his chest.
He was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Rafidia Hospital in Nablus. His killing came amid a rise in Israeli raids across the West Bank and added to the growing number of Palestinian minors killed in 2022.
Human rights groups, including the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), condemned the killing, stating that it was part of a pattern of unjustified lethal force by Israeli soldiers. Though no personal quotes from his family were published, Nader’s death was mourned widely across his community and highlighted the dangerous reality Palestinian children face under military occupation.
Sources & References
Nader Haitham Rayyan, 17, was shot and killed by Israeli forces who invaded Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. In addition to killing Nader, the soldiers also injured three other youth with live rounds. Medical sources in Nablus have confirmed that the soldiers fatally shot Nader Haitham Rayyan, 17, in addition to causing moderate-to-severe wounds to three other Palestinians. Palestinian medics rushed the slain child and the wounded Palestinians to Rafidia hospital in Nablus.1 israelpalestinetimeline.org Open source