Rimas Amuri
Rimas Amuri died from a gunshot wound after Israeli soldiers shot her in the back near her family home in the al-Jabriyat neighborhood of the Jenin refugee camp on 21 February 2025. She collapsed immediately after being struck and remained on the ground while continued gunfire prevented her family from reaching her. After she was eventually evacuated to Jenin Government Hospital, doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.
Rimas Amuri left her home at approximately 3:00 p.m. on 21 February 2025 to visit her cousins in a neighboring house after spending nearly a month indoors because of the ongoing Israeli military operation in Jenin Refugee Camp. As she walked only a short distance from her home, a group of five or six Israeli soldiers positioned about 30 to 40 meters away opened fire. Rimas was struck by a bullet in the back and collapsed, calling for help. Her mother, brother, and cousin attempted to rescue her but were repeatedly prevented from doing so because the soldiers continued firing whenever they approached. The family summoned an ambulance, but access was delayed due to the presence of Israeli troops and damaged roads inside the camp. After her mother and brother eventually managed to drag her to safety, she was transported to Jenin Government Hospital, where she was pronounced dead upon arrival. The IDF stated that soldiers believed they had identified a suspicious figure and initiated a suspect-arrest procedure before firing. However, witnesses reported hearing no warning calls, and B'Tselem's investigation concluded that the soldiers should have been able to recognize that Rimas was a young girl, noting that the medical report showed she had been shot in the back.
Biography
Rimas Amuri was a 13-year-old Palestinian girl who lived with her parents and siblings in the al-Jabriyat neighborhood of Jenin Refugee Camp in the occupied West Bank. She enjoyed spending time with her cousins and family and, after weeks of remaining indoors because of the military operation in the camp, she was looking forward to briefly visiting relatives living next door. Her life was cut short when she was fatally shot near her home on 21 February 2025.
Rimas Amuri was a Palestinian schoolgirl who lived with her family in the al-Jabriyat neighborhood in the southern part of Jenin Refugee Camp. She was the daughter of Omar and Rodayna Amuri and had three siblings. Like many children in the camp, she spent much of her childhood surrounded by close relatives, often visiting her cousins who lived nearby. During the month-long Israeli military operation in Jenin, Rimas had been largely confined indoors, unable to play freely outside. On 21 February 2025, feeling bored after weeks inside, she asked her mother for permission to visit her cousins next door. Her mother agreed because the house was only a few meters away. Moments after leaving home, Rimas was shot and fatally wounded. Her death devastated her family and became one of the widely documented cases involving the killing of Palestinian children during military operations in the occupied West Bank. Three weeks after her death, Israeli forces raided the neighborhood, expelled her family along with other residents from the refugee camp, and displaced them to an internally displaced persons (IDP) center, leaving them unable to return to their home or visit Rimas's grave.
Pleas of Surviving Relatives and Family if any
Rimas's family has repeatedly called for accountability and justice for her killing. Her mother, Rodayna Amuri, described the anguish of hearing her daughter cry out, "Mom, Mom," while continuous gunfire prevented the family from reaching her. Her father, Omar Amuri, questioned how such a tragedy would have been viewed had the victim been an Israeli child, saying, "If such a thing had happened with an Israeli girl, what would the reaction be? We are against the killing of anyone. We are the same like every other person."
Additional Information
Rimas Amuri died from a gunshot wound after Israeli soldiers shot her in the back near her family home in the al-Jabriyat neighborhood of the Jenin refugee camp on 21 February 2025. She collapsed immediately after being struck and remained on the ground while continued gunfire prevented her family from reaching her. After she was eventually evacuated to Jenin Government Hospital, doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.
Sources & References
How children in West Bank are being killed by Israel ‘without accountability’1 theguardian.com Open source
2 Palestinian children killed by Israeli army fire in West Bank2 aa.com.tr Open source
Rimas ‘Amuri, 13, lived with her family in the al-Jabriyat neighborhood in the southern part of Jenin Refugee Camp. At around 3:00 P.M. on 21 February 2025, about a month after the military incursion into the camp began, Rimas asked her mother for permission to go to her uncle’s house next door to visit her cousins.3 btselem.org Open source