On 25 June 2025, soldiers raided the town of al-Yamun. At about the same time, Rayan Hushiyeh, 14, and his cousin, also a teen, arrived at a barbershop in the town center and discovered it was closed. In the meantime, clashes broke out in the area, during which local residents fired and threw stones and IEDs at the Israeli soldiers. When the boys found out about the raid and that soldiers had taken over a house in the area, they went into a side street, unaware that a group of soldiers had been stationed on the roof of a nearby building. When they reached the corner of the alley opposite the house, one of the soldiers fired at them from a distance of 30 to 40 meters, hitting Hushiyeh, who fell to the ground. His cousin ran away, and Hushiyeh was taken by residents to an ambulance that took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
B’Tselem field researcher Abdulkarim Sadi collected the testimonies.
Hushiyeh’s cousin recounted on 26 June 2025:
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Rayan Tamer Anwar Hushiyeh. Photo courtesy of the family
On Wednesday, 25 June 2025, at around 3:30 P.M., my cousin Rayan Hushiyeh and I walked from our neighborhood in the west of the town of al-Yamun to the barbershop located in the town center, near the old mosque. When we got to the barbershop, it was closed, and we didn’t know why.
At about the same time, military forces entered the town, mostly in the eastern area, and I found out that they were raiding a house to arrest a wanted guy. Clashes broke out between young guys and the Israeli military forces, including armed men shooting at the soldiers, exploding IEDs and throwing stones at military vehicles.
Rayan and I went into a side street near the old mosque, not knowing there were soldiers on the roof of one of the houses belonging to the ‘Abd al-Malek family. When we got to the corner of a street located about 30 to 40 meters west of the soldiers’ position, one of them suddenly started shooting at us.
I was two or three steps ahead of Rayan and managed to run away as soon as I heard the shooting, but he was hit and fell to the ground.
I know that some residents evacuated Rayan in an ambulance that was already waiting there – we passed by it before the shooting – and that he died of gunshot wounds to the head and neck area and to other parts of his body, and his body was returned from the hospital and brought to burial.
A resident of al-Yamun who witnessed the incident recounted on 26 June 2025:
On Wednesday afternoon, 25 June 2025, I was standing outside my house. It was during a raid by Israeli military forces on the town, and a Palestinian ambulance was standing nearby. The forces were raiding the house of one of the wanted men on the eastern side of the town center, and military vehicles were also driving through the town’s streets and alleys. Some young men and teens threw stones and IEDs at the military vehicles, and I heard live gunfire and the explosions of stun grenades and tear gas canisters in the streets.
At around 3:30 P.M., I saw two boys walking past my house. I didn’t know there were soldiers on one of the rooftops opposite, but when the boys reached a point where they were visible from that roof, several bullets were suddenly fired at them from there. One of the boys managed to run north, but the other boy, Rayan, was hit by several bullets, one of them in the neck. He took a few steps back and then fell to the ground, about 15 meters from me. I ran over to him with several other residents and the ambulance crews, and the paramedics evacuated him to the al-Hadaf Medical Center in the town of al-Yamun.
About 15 minutes after Rayan was shot, the soldiers left town without arresting anyone.
Rayan’s mother, Zakiyyeh Hushiyeh, 39, a mother of five, recounted in a testimony she gave on 26 March 2026:
I still remember how my son Rayan woke up on Wednesday, 25 June 2025, ate breakfast and then went with his father, Tamer, to Jenin to buy fruit and vegetables for Tamer’s shop.
They came back from Jenin in the early afternoon, and we had lunch together. After that, I prepared fruit and watermelon for the family, and later Rayan’s friends joined us too. We sat together and ate the fruit. We were so happy and joyful.
At around 2:30 P.M., while we were in our house in the western area of al-Yamun, we found out from social media that military forces were raiding the town. By then, Rayan had already gotten dressed and gone out with his friends, as usual, to play and spend time together in the town.
At around 4:00 P.M., social media posts said that a youth from the town had been wounded and evacuated to the hospital in Jenin. A few moments later, my son Anwar, 17, came home and told me that the wounded youth was Rayan, and that he died. This was such terrible and painful news. I got extremely dizzy. I tried to go out of the house, but I passed out and collapsed to the ground, stunned by the bitter news. Within moments, family and neighbors started gathering at our house, and it seemed that they had already received and verified the news of my son Rayan’s death.
Rayan loved raising animals, and he used to bring home every puppy he found and take care of them, feeding them milk until they grew, and also training them. It gave him immense joy.
Rayan pampered and deeply loved his only sister, Lujayn, who was seven years old. He took exceptional care of her. He had a lot of patience with her and gave her a lot of attention. He wouldn’t let anyone tease or hurt his sister.
Rayan had a good heart. Whenever he was upset or angry about something, he would reflect on his actions and, if he had wronged someone, apologize immediately. At the same time, he wasn’t afraid to speak out, and he expressed his opinions with conviction.
I’ve been thinking about him every day since his death and crying over his loss. We’ve lost all joy since he died.
