Soldiers who entered al-Birah shot a 12-year-old running home frightened by shots fired at stone-throwers, and then delayed his evacuation by ambulance

On Friday, 14 June 2024, at around 5:00 P.M., Israeli soldiers and Border Police officers drove into the Um a-Sharayet neighborhood of al-Birah, reportedly searching for a Palestinian driver suspected of ramming a stolen vehicle into a soldier at the Rantis checkpoint around 4:15 P.M. Two military jeeps stopped at the intersection of Haifa and Ramallah streets, blocking the road by the fire station on Haifa Street. The soldiers surrounded a carwash and went inside. Several young men working there tried to flee, and the soldiers shot one of them in the thigh while he was hiding behind a column. He fell, and they shot him again in the leg. The young man was seriously injured and three soldiers carried him out to the street, where he was taken away in an ambulance.

At around 5:10 P.M., about 20 to 30 children and youths gathered in an alley in al-Am'ari Refugee Camp, which is adjacent to al-Birah. Some of them threw stones at the forces by the fire station, and the latter responded by shooting live bullets, tear gas canisters and stun grenades. Shortly before the shooting, 12-year-old Muhammad Hushiyeh set out home from the soccer field in al-Am’ari R.C. At around 5:15, he came out of an alley about 15 meters from the jeeps and turned west on Haifa Street. He heard the shots and started running west, away from the carwash. In video footage captured from the west, he is seen running away from the soldiers, and then several more shots are heard. Muhammad is then seen lying wounded on the sidewalk, about 70-75 meters from the soldiers who shot him, who were likely across the street from him.

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A few minutes after Muhammad was shot, an ambulance entered the eastern end of Haifa Street, but soldiers stopped it at gunpoint from driving to Muhammad. The ambulance drove instead to the western end of Haifa Street, but again was blocked by soldiers from reaching Muhammad. The ambulance then drove through an alley leading to Haifa Street from the south, until it was a few meters away from Muhammad. Again, soldiers stopped it at gunpoint. Finally, a second ambulance arrived from the west, drove past the jeep that was partially blocking the road, and stopped between Muhammad and the soldiers, allowing the first ambulance to reach the boy and take him to hospital after a delay of nearly 20 minutes.

The forces remained in the area until nightfall. At some point, they fired a tear gas canister that started a fire. At around 8:00 P.M., soldiers shot at a passing car with Israeli license plates and injured the driver, a foreign national, who continued driving for several dozen meters before stopping. Soldiers went over to him and then allowed a Palestinian ambulance to take him away. The forces then left the area without arresting anyone or locating the suspected vehicle.

Muhammad Hushiyeh sustained internal injuries, underwent surgery and was hospitalized in critical condition for about a week before succumbing to his wounds on 22 June 2024. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that another six Palestinians were injured that day in the camp and in al-Birah, two seriously and four lightly.

In response to an inquiry by Haaretz, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said that during the incident, “terrorists threw concrete blocks and explosives at the forces, who responded with riot control measures and gunfire to eliminate the threat. Several hits were identified. After the incident, the military was informed of the death of Muhammad Hushiyeh, who participated in the disturbance. The circumstances of the case are under investigation.”

B’Tselem’s investigation found that the soldiers shot Muhammad while he was running away from them and endangering no one. They were close enough to clearly see he was a minor, making the choice to shoot him even more egregious. They then kept an ambulance from reaching him again and again.

B’Tselem field researcher Mohammed ​​Romaneh collected the following testimonies:

M.A. recounted on 8 July 2024:

On Friday, 14 June 2024, at 5:00 P.M., I was driving a truck along with the owner’s son from the area opposite al-Khatib taxis on Haifa Street, back to my workplace in Um a-Sharayet.

Just as I started crossing the intersection towards Haifa Street, two Israeli military jeeps arrived. Everything was quiet until then. After I entered the intersection, the jeeps stopped about 5-10 meters from the ​​fire station, facing us, and completely blocked the road.

Several soldiers got out of the jeeps and some of them fired shots in the air. One soldier, who was standing right in the middle of the road, aimed his rifle at us. Meanwhile, pedestrians started running away because of the shooting.

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I saw a kid who looked about 15 years old running towards us. At first, he was about 10 to 15 meters from the soldiers, with his back to them. He ran, and then I saw him fall down. I realized he’d been shot. Meanwhile, the shooting continued. After he fell, he turned his body towards the soldiers. I opened the truck door and tried to talk to him. He was in front of me, to the left. As soon as I opened the door, the soldiers started shooting at us and I felt the bullets flying over the truck. I closed the door and drove backwards to escape the heavy fire and reach the intersection. The cars behind me also backed up.

I backed into the intersection a bit. I saw an ambulance there and told the driver about the injured kid. The ambulance tried to reach him, but the military jeeps had already driven ahead and and blocked the ambulance from getting closer while firing shots. I drove away and heard the shooting continue.

A few hours later, I learned from social media that the injured kid was called Muhammad Hushiyeh and that he was apparently in critical condition. I was surprised, because I thought he was shot in the leg. Later, I heard from my wife, who is friendly with his mother, that he died.

M.F., a paramedic from Qatanah, recounted on 25 July 2024:

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On Friday, 14 June 2024, at 5:00 P.M., I received a message through the Red Crescent ops room that the Israeli military was raiding the Um a-Sharayet area and there was a wounded person on site, near the fire station.

I left the Red Crescent station with my colleague, an ambulance driver. The location of the wounded person was a three-minute drive away. We took al-Quds Street, aiming to get to the eastern part of Haifa Street. When we got there, we found military jeeps blocking the road and several soldiers around them. We tried to drive on, but the soldiers signaled us to go back. When we tried to drive on again, the soldiers aimed their rifles at us.

We turned around and tried to reach Haifa Street from the west, but from a distance we could already see a military vehicle blocking the entrance from that end, too. We had to drive through a narrow alley between the houses that leads to the middle of Haifa Street.

When we reached Haifa Street, the military jeep that blocked us from the west was on our left. The soldiers got out of the jeep and came towards us, aiming their rifles at us. They stood there and blocked our way.

I saw the wounded minor lying on his back in the middle of the street, no more than six meters away from me. I tried to talk to him. I noticed that he was bleeding from the abdomen. My colleague, who speaks fluent Hebrew, tried to communicate with the soldiers through the ambulance’s loudspeaker, but they wouldn’t let us get close and treat him. All the driver’s attempts didn’t work.

We waited more than five minutes, and then another Red Crescent ambulance arrived and drove to the site from the west. The military jeep was blocking the road between al-​Click here to enter text.​‘Odah Street and Haifa Street, but the second ambulance managed to go around it and drive up to where the minor was. It stopped sideways across the street, separating us from the soldiers, and then we managed to drive up to the minor and get him into the ambulance. He was injured in the abdomen and was bleeding heavily. I asked where he was from, and he said he lived in al-Am’ari. He asked about his phone, which was in his pocket.

We left Haifa Street behind the second ambulance. We took the minor to the Palestine Medical Complex on al-‘Odah Street — a drive of no more than three minutes.

When we arrived at the medical center, the doctor asked what the patient’s name was, but we didn’t know. The doctor asked the staff to take a blood sample and then ordered them to take him immediately to the operating room.

We went back to the Red Crescent station on al-Quds Street. I later learned through social media that the injured minor was called Muhammad Hushiyeh. I was surprised; I know his father and am friendly with him. He’s from my village. A few days later I found out, again through social media, that he died.

Muhammad’s father, Murad Hushiyeh ​​(44), a father of two from Um a-Sharayet, said on 8 July 2024:

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On Friday, 14 June 2024, I finished work in the area of al-Birah around 6:00 or 6:30 P.M. and took public transportation home. When I arrived at al-Manara Square in the center of Ramallah, my wife called and said the army was near our house. She suggested that instead of going straight home, I go to the football field and walk Muhammad home.

I took a minibus to the field near al-Am’ari RC, but when I got there, I found out Muhammad had already finished playing and gone home. I set out after him and took a path parallel to the camp. At the end of the street, I saw a group of young men in their twenties and thirties throwing stones at soldiers who were about 10 to 15 meters away from them, near the fire station. There was a smell of teargas in the air, and it grew stronger as I got closer. It was hot, and I started to feel suffocated. I realized it would be difficult to get home via Haifa Street, which passes by the fire station. I turned back and took another route home, passing through al-Am’ari RC.

On the way, my wife’s brother, Musa Abu Ghweilah, called and suggested I go to his house since there were soldiers near mine. I said no—I was tired and wanted to rest and change clothes. I continued home, and a few minutes later, my wife called again to ask about Muhammad. I told her he wasn’t at the field when I got there. We hung up, but a few minutes later she called again, crying. I asked her what happened, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying until my 11-year-old daughter Leen took the phone and told me that Muhammad was injured and was at the Palestine Medical Complex.

My brother-in-law drove us to the hospital in his car sometime between 7:30 and 8:00 P.M.

We waited at the hospital until 12:45 A.M., when a doctor came out and told me the medical team had done all they could and now it was in God’s hands. Ten minutes later, we all went home because Muhammad was in intensive care and we couldn’t go in and sit beside him.

My wife and I went back in the morning, and when we saw Muhammad, we were shocked. His whole body was blue and his legs were swollen. The doctor told me Muhammad was shot in the abdomen, which damaged all his internal organs: the spleen, liver, pancreas and kidneys, as well as a major artery in his heart. I understood it was only a matter of time before they declared him dead. I started preparing myself.

Muhammad stayed more or less in the same condition for nine days. Those were the hardest days of my life. I didn’t sleep or eat.

On Saturday morning, 22 June 2024, my brother, who was sitting with Muhammad, told me he had passed away. We drove to the hospital and I went in to say goodbye to him. Then we buried him in the village of Qatanah, where he was born.

Muhammad was everything to me and no one will ever be able to replace him. He was an excellent student and a friendly boy who loved to joke around. He was supposed to start eighth grade. He loved soccer very much and wanted to become a dentist when he grew up. He was a kid who loved being funny.